


it's such a little thing

by rubberglue



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-12
Updated: 2013-07-05
Packaged: 2017-12-08 06:17:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/758058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubberglue/pseuds/rubberglue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Guinevere Thomas  is down on her luck—and pretty down on love, too. Besides being out of work for so long, she's also harbored a secret crush on Arthur Pendragon since forever. When she finally lands a job, Gwen finds herself not only working for Arthur, but also agreeing to play matchmaker for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [unconventionalcourtship](http://unconventionalcourtship.dreamwidth.org/) challenge. The original summary can be found [here.](http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html;jsessionid=D580751B28C6FC3044CC45910A55C0C5?iid=27575&cid=)
> 
> Massive thanks to E for all her feedback.

Merlin was saying something to him - probably nagging him about the paperwork he had to complete to properly finalise that deal with Helios - but Arthur was far too preoccupied with something much more important for that right now. And if he had a decent personal assistant, this wouldn’t even be an issue. Right now though, he had to spot Mithian in this crowd. After all, the only reason he agreed to attend his father’s fancy party was because he’d heard that she would be here. Not unsurprising. His father’s parties were probably the best way to get to know the who’s who of Camelot.

“Are you thinking of Mithian again?” Merlin jabbed him unnecessarily in the ribs, asking with far too much mirth in his voice.

“I’m always thinking of her,” Arthur replied dryly. And he was, ever since they were introduced at Elyan and Percival’s wedding a few months ago. She was everything he needed and he was determined to win her over. He fancied himself a pretty good catch - well-off, good-looking, didn’t have any terribly bad habits (except for Merlin but Merlin had a way of endearing himself to people so Arthur figured that would just be a minor hiccup), had his own apartment. And Mithian was beautiful and talented. Imagine the children they would have. Their family would be perfect.

“Speak of the devil,” said Merlin, waving his hand in the vague direction of the main door. Arthur looked up immediately and true enough, there stood Mithian in all her gorgeousness. Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin elbowed him enthusiastically. Raising his hand, a small yet noticeable action, to catch her attention, he grinned when she moved towards him. He’d been waiting for this moment the whole evening.

“Arthur.” Her voice was low and sexy, and his heart sped up, the same way it did when he first met her. Kissing her cheek lightly and inhaling the expensive scent of her perfume, Arthur took her hands, enjoying the feel of her delicateness.

“I thought you weren’t coming.” 

Mithian gave a light laugh and touched his arm, sending a shiver down it. “How could I not turn up to the party of the year?” She turned to smile at Merlin. “Hello Merlin. I like your suit.”

Merlin grinned. “I stole it from Arthur. You’re looking good too. How has your first month in Camelot been? Any regrets moving here?”

“Not yet. Camelot is a lovely place and everyone has been so welcoming.” As Mithian continued to talk about her first impressions of Camelot, Arthur took the opportunity to study her closely. Elyan had told him that Mithian, a long time friend of Percy, had been a fashion photographer but had wanted a change and decided to move to Camelot. His eyes drifted across her sharp features and he wondered how her skin would feel under his hand. Soft and smooth, he imagined. He bet that once let out of the fancy hairdo it was swept up in, her hair would be like silk, trailing against his -

“Right Arthur?”

Startled out of his fantasies, Arthur quickly glanced at a smirking Merlin. “I told Mithian that you’d be happy to show her around town. After all, you get invites to all the right places.”

“Oh, no. That won’t be necessary. Plus, I’ve been part of that scene for far too long. It would be nice to do something ordinary.” She flashed a smile at Merlin, much to Arthur’s annoyance. “Like that sports night at Avalon you mentioned before.”

“I could -”

“Merlin Emrys!” Before Arthur could offer to bring her to Avalon, a tiny, brown haired woman came bounding up to Merlin. Arthur watched as Merlin turned towards the woman, his face breaking into a huge smile when he spotted her. She looked vaguely familiar but he couldn’t place her. His eyes went back to Mithian who was looking bemusedly at Merlin and his apparently long lost friend. He raised an eyebrow and Mithian glanced at him and smiled. 

That, Arthur decided, was intimacy. One step in the right direction. 

It seemed like quite a while to Arthur but finally, Merlin and the woman untangled themselves from the hug. 

“Gwen, you remember Arthur right? And this is Mithian, Percy’s friend. She’s just moved to Camelot.” 

Guinevere Thomas. Now he remembered. She was Elyan’s older sister and he’d seen her around in school. She had been a quiet, studious student then and she and Merlin had one of those friendships that tended to exclude everyone else. 

Guinevere nodded absently at him, her disinterest annoying him slightly, but warmly welcomed Mithian to Camelot. “I’ve been away for so long that I feel new here too. In fact, I think Merlin is about the only person here I know well anymore.”

“Maybe we should get together sometime then. You can get reconnected with Camelot while I learn more about her. It would be fun.”

Guinevere nodded. “Of course.”

“Not know anyone well?” Arthur interrupted them, frowning. “What about your - ow!” Arthur looked down at his shin where Merlin had kicked, then scowled. He was going to have a bruise there, he knew. He scowled again.

“Shall we go get something to drink, Gwen?” Merlin linked arms with her, then addressed Mithian. “I’m sure Arthur will be good company. It’s lovely to see you again Mithian.”

And then it was just him and Mithian. Sometimes, he decided, Merlin wasn’t such a fool.

+

“You should have told me you were coming back to Camelot. I am hurt that I had to hear about it from Alice at the hardware store.”

Gwen smiled, glad that Merlin was still in Camelot and glad that their easy friendship still remained intact. “I’m sorry. You know Camelot isn’t my favourite place, even if it does have my favourite person in it.”

“Oh flattery will get you everything. Why are you back? And for good?” Nodding to the bartender, Merlin passed the pink cocktail to her. “I doubt you’re back because you miss Camelot.”

“No,” she sighed. “It’s more like not really having much choice.” She looked around the party, at the people who she hadn’t seen since she left for university and her heart sank. Aside from Merlin, she had been on the outskirts of the Camelot social life for most of her childhood, not helped by her family’s poverty or her brother’s frequent encounters with the law. Her eyes stopped at where Arthur Pendragon stood, deep in conversation with that new woman in town. And there was him. After all these years, one would have expected that that foolish crush she had on him would have faded. She didn’t even like him - he was arrogant, a bully and all too willing to use his family’s position in the town for his own benefit, yet she couldn’t stop that strange physical reaction she had when he was near. And the fact that once, he had been nice to her, kind almost and she still remembered the concern in his eyes and the way he left his friends to walk her home. 

The moment Merlin said Arthur’s name again, her heart had sped up and she found herself unable to look him in the eye, just like when she was a secondary school kid all over again. “Things didn’t quite work out in Essetir, so I guess I’m back home. For a while at least.”

“Well, anything I can do, just let me know. Are you staying at your old place?”

“Yup. Now that Elyan is married and living in Percy’s apartment, I’ve moved back.”

Merlin looked pointedly at her at the mention of Elyan’s name and she shrugged. She knew he wanted to know why she hadn’t been there at the wedding. Despite all that had happened between them, had her world not been imploding at that moment, she would have been at the wedding. But the day before she was about to leave for Camelot, everything went to hell in a handbasket. “You know, if there are too many memories, you can move in with me.”

Blinking back the sudden tears that pricked the back of her eyes, she smiled. “How did I ever survive the last few years without you?”

His hand covered hers and squeezed. “Not very well. But you’re home, among friends and family. I, for one, am glad you’re back.”

“Thanks. And before I get all weepy, how has your life been? I hear you’re working with Arthur.”

A reluctant grin pulled at his features. “Not something you’d have thought would happen huh?”

“No. You hated him!” Laughter bubbled out of her as she remembered how Arthur and Merlin would often butt heads in school. That was why she kept her foolish little crush on Arthur a secret from Merlin.

“Yeah well, as it turned out, he isn’t all that bad.”

“Not that bad?” From what she’d heard in the few days she’d been back, Arthur and Merlin were as tight as thieves. 

“Yeah. He’s still massively spoiled and far too full of himself, but he has a good heart.” He swatted her shoulder. “Stop laughing at me. What about you? What are you planning to do here?”

And that, thought Gwen morosely, even as she kept the smile on her face, was the million dollar question. She sipped at her drink as she contemplated just how much she wanted to reveal to Merlin. He was her best friend and perhaps it would be good to have someone to talk to about all these things. But if no one here in Camelot knew, it would be easier for her to pretend none of it had ever happened.

“I was -” She faltered when Arthur suddenly appeared behind Merlin and flung himself on the stool next to her. Immediately, all her senses went on alert, her heart pounded erratically and the usual annoyance rose in her. Annoyance that she still harboured a crush. Annoyance that it was a crush on Arthur Pendragon who would probably never give her another look. Reason number 167 she needed to get herself out of Camelot as soon as she could. 

“I’m far too rusty.” Arthur announced, uncaring that he’d interrupted their conversation. Selfish ass.

“Too rusty?” Merlin cast an amused glance at Arthur. “I assume that means you didn’t get Mithian’s number?”

Arthur closed his eyes and Gwen couldn’t help but stare at his face. He was no longer lanky and the fine lines on his face, the slight dark stains under his eyes all made him look older. Older but just as gorgeous as she remembered. “Nope,” he sighed. Then he opened his eyes and caught her staring at him. Heat flared in her face and she gulped down her drink.

“Having fun?” Arthur asked, nodding at her empty glass. “Don’t remember you being much of a party person.”

Gwen was amazed he remembered her at all. “I’m good.” Thank goodness her voice came out normal. “Merlin and I were just reminiscing.” 

“Sounds like fun. So, are you moving back here for good?”

“For now. I just need a break from my life.”

Arthur laughed. “Camelot is hardly a place I would go to run away from things. It’s a prison. In fact this whole party is a prison.”

“It’s your father’s party,” said Merlin dryly. 

“Exactly why it is a prison. Come on Merlin. Let’s head out of here. I only came because of Mithian.”  
“And because you’re afraid of your father.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged then looked directly at Gwen. “And now you know my deep, dark secret, you have swear yourself to secrecy.”

Laughing, she nodded. “No one will hear about your fear for your father from me.”

The smile he bestowed on her made her heart jump. His eyes crinkled at the sides. “Come with us Gwen, unless you are enjoying this party more than us.”

Slipping off the stool, suspecting that she was about to make a foolish decision, she grabbed her clasp. “Lead the way.”

And that was how she came to spend the rest of the night, with Arthur and Merlin at a small pizza parlor, eating greasy pizza and sipping milkshakes. In their formal evening wear, the three of them looked incredibly out of place but neither Arthur nor Merlin seemed to care and, while still far too aware of Arthur and his undeserved attractiveness, she managed to relax as well. They laughed over shared memories at school and when they ran out of happy memories, Arthur began to regale her with what he termed “The Many Tales of Merlin”. Merlin gave as good as he got and Gwen thought that she could easily spend all her time with them, listening to them banter and laugh. 

“So Merlin here decides that he needs to have a closer look at that flower. Mind you, we’re on the way to a meeting with my father but -”

“It was lunch. Not some high-powered meeting and it was only ten minutes,” pointed out Merlin. “And for someone who was sportsman of the year in secondary school, you’re such a coward.”

Arthur slammed his fork down, uncaring that the bit of cheesecake on it flew off, and gasped in indignation. His eyes, however, twinkled with amusement and Gwen couldn’t help but smile. Seeing Arthur like this, charming, affectionate and warm was not helping her crush and she sipped on her milkshake, trying to temper the feelings churning in her gut. It was bad enough that she thought him attractive. She could not let herself like him.

Merlin slipped an arm around her, startling her out of her thoughts. “I’m sure Gwen here agrees with me.”

“What?”

“Merlin thinks I am too cowardly to take risks. I’m always taking risks!” Arthur adjusted his tie, a look of arrogance settling on his face. “You don’t get to where I am without taking risks.”

“Jumping into a pool without testing the temperature doesn’t count as taking a risk. You know, Gwen. We went swimming in that monster of a pool he has in his home -”

“My father’s home and that’s a really boring story -”

Grinning, Gwen propped her chin on her hands. “Now, I’m dying to hear it.”

Merlin laughed as Arthur groaned, before insisting he needed to go to the toilet. It was the closest feeling to home she had had since arriving here.

+

Merlin tossed the files on the table and huffed, “You do realise that I am not your personal assistant. I am your legal assistant.”

“When I get a replacement personal assistant, then you can stop doing all these but right now I need you to take notes on this case.” Arthur felt slightly bad that Merlin had had to double as his PA but ever since George took leave to spend time with his pregnant (and unfortunately very ill) wife, Arthur had had little luck finding a replacement. Gemma had been completely unreliable and Toby, while sweet, wasn’t quite as intelligent as his CV made him out to be. 

“Have you put up an ad?”

“Of course I have. Merlin, I don’t want you as my PA any more than you want to be. Anyway, I’ve got a stack of CVs from that agency so maybe -”

“No. I have plans this evening.”

Arthur frowned. “You didn’t tell me you had plans.”

“Am I doubling as your son as well now?”

“Oh shut up. Fine. I’ll look through the CVs. Don’t blame me if you can’t stand our new PA.”

Merlin flopped onto the sofa and despite Arthur’s dirty looks, put his feet onto the expensive leather. “Speak and I will record.”

It was a fairly open and shut case and Arthur was glad for it. Much better than the other case he had in which his client was suing a large company. His father had balked at them taking the case - think of the repercussions Uther had said, over and over again - but Arthur had accepted it anyway. Partly, as Merlin pointed out, to annoy his father. And that was going well - the annoying his father bit. The bit that wasn’t going so well was actually winning the case. He rubbed his face as the now familiar feelings of guilt rose in him. Maybe he should have passed on the case. 

“You’re sighing and that face means you’re thinking about the Mordred case,” Merlin pointed out, rather unhelpfully Arthur thought since he was well aware of what he was thinking of. “With you and the Pendragon firm’s resources behind him, he has a much better chance at success than if he’d gone to a smaller firm.”

“Unfortunately, Mercia Constructions has much meore extensive resources. And they don’t have a father who keeps pressuring them to make a deal.”

“I guess that’s a no to a deal then.”

Arthur stood up and stared out of his window. “We’ll only accept a deal when we’ve exhausted all our options. Or if a deal is in the best interests of our client. Right now, it’s not. And Mordred is right. Mercia Constructions can’t be allowed to get away with such behaviour. They knew what they were doing was dangerous - ”

“You have to prove that in court and so far it’s little more than hearsay.”

“I know. Which is what is so annoying.” 

He heard Merlin move. “Well then. I’m off. Don’t forget to look through the CVs. Maybe with a decent secretary, we’d move faster with the case.”

Arthur waved a hand absently and continued staring out of the window, looking at the main street outside. Aside from his university days, he’d spent most of his life in Camelot. He loved the town but sometimes, a sense of restlessness would grip him and he’d feel trapped - trapped in this small town full of people who saw him as little more than the spoiled, arrogant son of his father, trapped by his father’s expectations that he take over the firm and trapped by the feeling that his life wasn’t quite going anywhere. 

This was why he knew Mithian was the one. She wasn’t from Camelot, she was beautiful and from his limited interactions with her, she appeared to be smart - everything he wanted in a wife. Maybe if he had a family, this feeling of restlessness, of wanting something more would fade. 

He pulled out his mobile and dialed her number which he’d gotten from Percy, the stress and guilt that had settled on his shoulders earlier lifting when he heard Mithian’s voice. His mood greatly improved since she agreed to a movie, he grabbed his jacket and walked jauntily out of the office.

The movie was one of those art house flicks and that it was in Japanese really didn’t help at all. Arthur glanced warily at Mithian who was chattering happily about the themes in the film and how it subverted them. When she turned to look at him, he smiled and nodded, hoping whatever she said didn’t need a response. Discussions about Japanese culture and their portrayal of masculinity was not quite his forte.

“How about some supper?”

She glanced at her watch, then shook her head. “I can’t. Have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Right. Let’s get you home then.” Arthur said despite the disappointment he felt.

At her door, she smiled prettily at him and even before he could say anything, Mithian slipped inside and closed the door in his face. Maybe he should go read up on Japanese cinema and society.

+

Gwen watched as Merlin shoveled the pie into his mouth. Some things never changed. Since young, Merlin always ate as if he was afraid the food would disappear on him. 

“There’s more pie in the oven.”

Merlin mumbled something with his mouth full. 

“Anyway, I have something to tell you.” She clasped, then unclasped her hands as nerves flooded her. Merlin looked at her encouragingly, still munching on the pie. “I applied for a job with Pendragon Law.”

That got Merlin to stop eating and stare at her. “Pendragon Law?”

Nodding, she continued. “I know that Uther and I have had our problems -”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“But the PA job is temporary and it pays well -”

Merlin coughed. “PA job. You applied to be a personal assistant? Gwen, didn’t you use to be an IT manager?”

“Yeah but there aren’t many openings at the moment in that area here and I don’t really plan to stay here for the long term. The agency said they only needed a PA for about seven to ten months. And the pay is pretty good. One thing I have to say about Uther is that he clearly pays his people well. Once I’ve saved enough, I can move on. Out of Camelot.”

Putting his fork down, Merlin looked quietly at her for a while. “You ever think of staying here? Permanently?”

Gwen shrugged. While she hadn’t had a particularly difficult time in Camelot, unlike her brother, she still remembered how she never quite belonged, how while people were nice, they kept looking at her and her family with judgement in their eyes. She wanted to leave her past behind not live in it. 

“Things are different now,” Merlin said gently. “Your brother -”

“He has Percy. And Uther is still running the town isn’t he?”

“You’re going to work in his firm,” Merlin pointed out. “Although, it will be Arthur you’ll be working for. He’s the one looking for a temporary PA.”

That surprised Gwen. She had been pretty sure that she wasn’t going to end up as Uther’s PA - she knew that Katherine, Uther’s long time PA, was still working for him. In fact, she’d thought she would be working for one of the many lawyers there. Not Arthur himself. Doubt seized her. Maybe this was a foolish idea, not when despite time and distance, she still had too many uncomfortable feelings for him.

“Now that I think about it,” said Merlin chirpily, “this is a brilliant idea. We’d get to spend more time together and I’d no longer have to be his PA.” He shoved another forkful of pie into his mouth. “And you can bake more pies for us.”

She looked at Merlin’s enthusiasm, his grinning face and felt herself give in. After all, it wasn’t like Arthur was sure to hire her. And even if he did, she wasn’t a teenager anymore. She most certainly wasn’t about to throw herself at him. Taking the fork from Merlin, she popped some pie into her mouth and grinned back at him.

“You know what we need to do? We need to do up this house.”

“What? Why? It’s perfectly serviceable.”

“Serviceable being the operative word. You’re going to be here at least for the next seven months. Surely you’d want a place that seems more like home. It’ll be like one of those projects we did when we were in school.”

“You mean like us building a time machine?” Gwen laughed as she remembered how seriously they had taken that task.

“Exactly, only now, we’re older, wiser, richer and we’ll actually succeed.”

Narrowing her eyes, she waved the fork at Merlin. “You’re trying to get me to stay here.”

Merlin’s smile dropped a little. Reaching out, he took her hands in hers. “I admit I’ve missed you tremendously and if making this place more like a home encourages you to stay, then I would be the first to cheer. But really, this was Elyan’s place for years. You deserve to live in a place that seems more like home for you. Plus it will be fun and it’ll be a good chance for us to catch up.”

“You’re the best friend Merlin.” 

“I know. Think I can have some more pie?”

+

Arthur stared at the CV in front of him. Guinevere Thomas. The surprise of seeing her application in the pile was still with him. According to her CV, she used to be an IT manager. Why would she want to work as PA now? Earlier, he’d asked Merlin what he thought of hiring her and Merlin had merely told him to make his own decisions. She certainly didn’t have the experience he would have liked but her CV suggested she was efficient and capable. Also, he liked her. Those few hours they spent together after that party had been fun and he enjoyed her company. 

“Merlin! Tell Guinevere to come in for an interview tomorrow.” And after a thought, he added, “Call that James guy too.”

“Right.”

As Merlin walked out of his office, Arthur let himself relax a little. If everything went well, he’d have a new PA by the end of the week. His good mood was compounded by the fact that Mithian had agreed to go for dinner with him again that night. Sure, the movie and dinner with her the previous night hadn’t gone as fantastically as he’d imagined in his head but this was just the beginning. Things could only get better.

The only thorn in his side at the moment was the fact that Gili was refusing to testify against Mercia Construction despite Arthur speaking to him several times. He would have to find another angle to this case or they were going to be humiliated in court. But that other angle led to Morgana, his estranged step-sister and he had already incurred his father’s ire for taking on the case. Working with Morgana was going to ensure he’d find himself disinherited faster than he could say her name. 

And with those thoughts, his good mood leaked out of him. Groaning, Arthur pulled up the files on the Mercia case. Maybe reading them again would give him ideas. He wasn’t optimistic though, not when he’d spent most of his weekend doing exactly that. So when six o’clock ticked by, he quite eagerly abandoned his research and pulled on his jacket. A night with Mithian would do wonders. 

The food was good, the service impeccable and the conversation was light. Mithian told him stories of her life in Nemeth where she had been a fashion photographer. They laughed over tidbits of celebrity gossip she shared and Arthur spoke about the more outrageous cases he had. All in all, it wasn’t a bad date.

“What are you planning to do here? This isn’t exactly the fashion capital of Albion.” Arthur asked as he helped her with her coat after dinner, his fingers brushing against the soft skin of her bared shoulders. 

She flushed as she turned to him, her hands fiddling with the buttons on her coat. “Don’t laugh but I was hoping to photograph a different subject here.”

“Here? There’s nothing much here except what the guidebooks say are our bewitching landscapes and abundant wildlife.” At her pointed look, he smiled. “Ah. You’re planning to be a nature photographer.”

“Yes. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do to be honest, but I fell into fashion photography quite by chance, the money was good and as it turned out, I was quite talented at it all.” She slipped her arm through his as they strolled along the river and Arthur smiled. “I was hoping to try it out here, not just because Camelot is any nature photographer’s dream, but because no one knows me here.”

“Less pressure huh?” 

She nodded. “Do you think it’s silly?”

Squeezing Mithian’s hand, he shook his head. “I know all about pressure and expectations.”

Her laugh tinkled in the night air. “I’m sure you do, Mr Pendragon.”

They strolled along the river for a while before he took her home. At her door, he brushed a kiss against her lips. When she neither leaned towards him nor responded to his kiss, he pulled away. She smiled slightly but said nothing. Hesitating a little, Arthur quickly said his goodbye and left. He refused to acknowledge the disappointment that had lodged in his heart. All he needed was time. 

+

In the cold light of the day, standing in front of the door with the words Arthur Pendragon on it, Gwen decided that her idea to apply for this job was a foolish one. She was just about to march over to Merlin’s office and tell him that she couldn’t do it when the door opened and she was standing right in front of Arthur.

“Guinevere!” He took a glance at his watch. “You’re early. Good! Everyone loves a punctual person.” Pulling open the door wider, he gestured for her to enter, frowning when she didn’t. “You know what, it’s almost lunch time and I’ve not had lunch. How about we do this over lunch?”

“That seems rather unprofessional.”

The smile that he flashed her sent her heart racing. “I’ve never been very good at being professional. How about it? I’ll pay and I promise you, I will assess you as professionally as I can.”

She took a look at his twinkling eyes and teasing smile and nodded. 

“Brilliant. Come, I know the perfect place - good food, quiet, nearby.” He shrugged on his coat and Gwen followed him, her brain sending warning signals to her that such a cosy lunch cum interview was probably a bad idea. She ignored them.

“Right. So why do you want this job? It’s not exactly what you’ve been doing in Caerleon.” He twirled some pasta onto his fork as he asked her.

“Didn’t Merlin tell you?”

“Ah, now that would be highly unprofessional wouldn’t it?” That smile crossed his face again and Gwen cursed whatever it was that made her so susceptible to it. “And you know, I’m always professional.”

“Well,” she swallowed, trying to regain her composure as she explained why she wanted the job. “And of course, the generous pay would make it easier for me to start over somewhere else.”

This time the smile had faded from his face. “I noticed that the reference you’ve provided is from your first job, not the last one. Is there a reason? You say you left the job. You resigned?”

Gwen wondered how good a liar she was. She was about to find out. “I didn’t part ways with my previous company on good terms. Mainly, I disagreed with my boss on how certain things should be done and he didn’t take criticism well.”

“And he fired you?” 

“It was more like a mutual agreement to part ways.” That wasn’t really a lie but Gwen could see that he had more questions. A frown creased his brow and he seemed deep in thought. Feeling that she had screwed up her chance at this job, she sighed. Perhaps the truth was needed but she hadn’t even told Merlin the truth.

He looked up at her and nodded. “I suppose you have your reasons for being vague.”

“Look, I know that it sounds very -”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t forget, I know you Guinevere. If anything, you have always been scrupulously principled. And obviously responsible and organised from what I see in your CV. Plus, you put up with Merlin, which to me, is something worthy of praise. In fact,” he leaned back on his chair and the smile that disappeared some minutes ago made an appearance again, “I’m going to hire you on the spot.”

Just a moment ago, Gwen had been convinced that she’d no hope and now Arthur was offering the job to her, with that very tempting smile on his face. “Uh -”

“Is that a yes? Because I am desperate. I think Merlin has just about had enough of being my stand-in PA.”

“Yes.” The word popped out of her mouth immediately. His smile got impossibly wider and he stretched out his hand. Gwen took it, suppressed the urge to shiver at his warm touch, and shook. 

She was now Guinevere Thomas, personal assistant to Arthur Pendragon, the person she’d a crush on for half her life and the son of the man who despised her family. What on earth was she doing?

She told Merlin as much that night, excluding the bit about the crush, slightly annoyed by his general glee that she was his new colleague. 

“Frankly,” Merlin said around a mouthful of brownies, “I don’t see the problem. Arthur is already in Uther’s black book for taking on that case. And it’s not like Uther actually keeps that close an eye on who Arthur hires. Plus, as you eloquently pointed out to me - it fits what you need. It’s temporary and it pays well.”

“That is true.”

“And you get the added bonus of spending time with me.”

A reluctant smile spread on her face. “Oh fine. That’s was of course the only consideration.”

“As it should be. Speaking of friends, Mithian called last night - I’ve no idea how she got my number - and basically, she was hoping to get in touch with you.”

“Oh.” Gwen had thought that Mithian’s offer during the party was one made out of politeness, not sincerity. It seemed like she was wrong. “If you give me her number, I’ll give her a call.”

+

The night before her first day of work, Gwen found herself unable to sleep. So by the time she knocked on Arthur’s door, she felt like death warmed over and was quite certain she looked the same. What a great impression to make on her first day. 

“Great! You’re here.” Arthur barely glanced up at her as he shoved a pile of folders into her arms. “Here’s what Merlin was trying to sort out. Unfortunately, since George left quite abruptly, the filing has gone somewhat haywired.”

“Right, I’ll get to work.”

“Check with Merlin about today’s appointments. You’ll handle that from today onwards. Also, I need you to take some notes on a case later, about ten. I should be free then.”

Gwen nodded as Arthur rattled on, hoping she could remember everything he said. This wasn’t quite the same Arthur she’d met at the party or even during her interview. When he finally finished talking, she took the stack of files and walked back to her desk. 

She had barely started when the smell of coffee wafted to her and she looked up. Standing in front of her was Merlin, a grin on his face and a mug of coffee in his hand. 

“Welcome to Pendragon Law.” He bowed with a flourish then set the mug on her desk. 

Smiling, she took the coffee and sipped it. “Just the way I like it too.”

“Not bad huh?” He hopped onto her desk and pushed the files she’d been working on around. “Oh, sorting out the paperwork. I hated that. Sorry it’s in such a mess.”

Before she could answer, Arthur yelled from his office. “Merlin!”

“The boss calls! We’ll lunch together ok?” He hopped off the desk easily, flashed her a thumbs up then disappeared into Arthur’s office.

With an amused shake of her head, Gwen went back to work on the files. Merlin was obviously hopeless at organisation and it looked that she’d quite a bit of work to catch up on. She was so engrossed in sorting out the files that she didn’t notice the elderly woman who stood quietly in the reception area. It was only when she happened to look up that Gwen noticed her.

“I’m sorry. How can I help you?”

“I’m Mrs Lee. I’m here to see Mr Pendragon.”

Quickly flipping through the appointment book, Gwen chided herself for not checking on it earlier so she wouldn’t seem so unprepared. Scrawled across today’s date in Merlin’s scratchy handwriting were the words “Mrs Lee 9:30am”.

“If you’ll wait a while, I’ll let him know you’re here.” 

For most of the meeting, Gwen was aware only of Arthur’s deep voice interspersed with Mrs Lee’s. The discussion seemed passionate but she shrugged it off, deciding to try and work out how to best organise her desk instead.

Then the yelling started.

And it was only Arthur who was yelling.

At an elderly lady.

Worried, Gwen pushed open the door to the office and was horrified to see Arthur standing over a shocked Mrs Lee and reprimanding her - loudly. 

“ - think that Michael is going to care about your face? If you want -” 

“I think you should stop, Mr Pendragon.” The words left her mouth even before she could think twice. Probably not the best idea to tell off her boss on her first day in front of his client.

“Guinevere.”

She was already in this deep. Swallowing, she continued. “I am sure raising your voice isn’t going to achieve anything. Why don’t I see to Mrs Lee while you pull yourself together.”

The lines on his face were taut and his eyes reflected his annoyance at her interruption but he nodded curtly. Quickly, she went to Mrs Lee and helped her out of the office, gave her cup of warm water then assured her that Arthur was just having a bad day before sending her on her way.

“That was completely inappropriate.” Turning, Gwen saw Arthur leaning against the door. “If you have a problem with my behaviour, tell me when we are alone.”

“You were upsetting her.”

“She was being unreasonable! How does she expect to win her suit if -”

“And you’re being selfish and insufferable and completely arrogant. What you want isn’t the most important thing in the world. Spare a thought for other people. You might want to win the case badly but Mrs Lee clearly has other more important issues. Isn’t what is important for your client be important to you?” The words just came out of her, like a faucet that couldn’t be turned off. And with every word, she had the growing realisation that this would probably be her first and last day at this job. And now, it would be even more difficult to get another job. Her mind swirled with thoughts about how she should have just minded her own business when she heard Arthur call her name.

“Anything else?” His voice was cool and her heart sank.

“No. I’m sorry. I should not have spoken to you in this manner.”

He studied her quietly, his eyes scanning her face. Then he sighed. “You’re right. I behaved appallingly towards Mrs Lee. Call her up later and make another appointment.”

“Oh.”

But he’d gone back into his office and for a while, Gwen simply stared at the closed door in surprise. It seemed that maybe her job was still safe.

+

Not only was Guinevere organised and efficient, she was smart. Hiring her was perhaps the only thing that was going right all week. Ok, he managed to clear a few other cases fairly successfully and his father had grudgingly praised him for the job done on the Grunhilda case, but the Mordred case still haunted him. 

“Mr Pendragon?” He sighed. He had no idea why Guinevere insisted on calling him that in the office. Propriety, she’d said. Well, she didn’t think much of propriety when she gave him a lecture yesterday about how he shouldn’t have been so hard on poor Mrs Lee. Even if she was right, but he’d been frustrated at Mrs Lee’s refusal to tell him the whole truth. But he probably shouldn’t have snapped at her. 

“Yeah?”

“Mordred is here to see you.”

“Send him in. Actually, I might need you to take some notes. Why don’t you come in as well?”

Mordred entered with Guinevere following closely behind. He was, as usual, dressed in all black, his face solemn. 

“How is your father?” He gestured for Mordred to take a seat.

“Better but he still has no memory of the accident.” Arthur sighed inwardly. He’d hoped that Mordred’s father would be able to remember what happened. There’d been no eyewitness and all they had were testimonies of several employees who refused to speak in court that the company had known well before Cerden’s accident that the scaffolding was unsafe. “Are we getting any closer to being able to bring them to court?”

“Not really. Merlin spoke to the suppliers of the scaffolding and they mentioned that they had a batch of faulty stock but that it had been discarded. We suspect that’s the stock that ended at up at Mercia Construction, except we have no idea how.”

Mordred scowled and Arthur could see the anger in his eyes. “What about your sister?”

Arthur could feel Guinevere’s eyes on him. Even she, who hadn’t been in Camelot for years, knew of the chasm between his father and Morgana. “It’s an option I am considering,” he admitted reluctantly. “Although I am not comfortable -”

“I’m not paying you to be comfortable. I’m paying you to avenge my father!”

“You’re not paying me at all, Mordred.”

“You said you would ensure justice was done. Well my father can’t work anymore and the company won’t lift a finger to help except to send us a useless fruit basket!”

Arthur took a breath to calm himself. Getting off his chair, he walked round to where Mordred stood and put his hands on his shoulders. “Mordred, I said would do all that I can and I will. Trust me.” Mordred stared defiantly at him before wrenching away from Arthur’s hold.

“Whatever.” He grabbed his haversack and marched out of the room, leaving a bewildered Guinevere and an exhausted Arthur.

“He’s just a kid,” said Guinevere as she stood.

Arthur glanced at her and smiled slightly. “Nineteen last month. For all purposes, he’s an adult.” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. What they needed was solid evidence, not all these talk and rumours. Merlin had done much of the legwork but come up with nothing much. His father had warned him - going after large companies was never easy, especially one as rich and connected as Mercia Constructions. They weren’t opposed to playing dirty. It looked like Arthur was going to have to play dirty too.

“Are you alright?” Suddenly, Guinevere was standing almost next to him, concern written all over her face. 

“Yeah. It’s just that - never mind. It’s almost six. You should get going home.”

“You should too. You’ve been staying late the past few days.”

He looked at her in surprise. He didn’t think she had noticed. “This case is a pain. And it’s not the only one I have.”

“It’s Friday night. Surely you have a date? Plans?”

That was the other thing that wasn’t going right in his life he thought with a fissure of annoyance. “No. Mithian cancelled on me.” He laughed lightly. “Not the best week. You go home. I’ll grab some takeout and go through some papers first.”

For a while, Guinevere just stood there studying him. Before he could ask her what she was doing, she spoke hesitantly. “I have food at home. I’m sure your papers can wait and if Merlin is right, you’re going to come in to work tomorrow as well.”

“Are you inviting me to dinner at your place?”

The most adorable frown crossed her face. “Just as friends,” she said indignantly.

For the first time that day, he laughed. “That’s probably the best offer I’ve had all day. Let’s go.” He thought she might have blushed, but he it was probably the poor lighting in his office.

+

They sat in silence for most of the drive back to her house, giving Gwen more than enough time to completely and utterly regret her impulsive invitation to Arthur. But it was far too late to take it back. She snuck a look at him, biting down a grin when she saw that he was mouthing the words to some cheesy 70s song on the radio. Work had been hectic and she’d learnt that the laid-back, world-owes-me-everything boy she knew from secondary school had somehow turned into a much more responsible, serious man. He worked hard, something she had first hand experience when she found herself having to stay late several times over the past week and he took his work seriously. Once she’d mentioned to Merlin that he seemed very driven and Merlin had merely shaken his head, sighed and muttered something about baggage.

“Why take up the Mordred case?” The moment she’d learnt about it, she’d been curious. Most of the cases Arthur worked on were corporate cases and while not necessarily simple, they weren’t quite as messy as Mordred’s case. He definitely didn’t normally work with stroppy teenagers. “How is he even going to pay you?”

He cast a quick glance at her. “When we get a settlement from Mercia Construction, I’ll take a cut.”

“And your father is ok with it?”

“Of course not,” Arthur laughed bitterly. “He thinks it’s the most awful idea I’ve ever had and that’s saying a lot seeing that he thinks a lot of my ideas are awful. But I’ve promised Mordred I’d work on it and I will.” He paused before continuing in a lighter tone. “So, tell me what culinary delights I am about to sink my teeth into.”

Realising Arthur didn’t want to talk about the case or his father, Gwen obliged and told him about the chicken pie she’d put in the oven that morning. The conversation moved to whether or not Merlin was exaggerating when he sang praises about her cooking - Gwen said he was but Arthur was insistent that Merlin would never lie about food.

“Anyway, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting isn’t it?” He flashed that smile at her again, making her heart race and her mind send all sorts of warning signals.

They pulled up at her home shortly but Arthur remained in the car even after she got out. 

“I’ll be back in a while. I need to grab something first,” he yelled through the window, then drove off. Slightly deflated at his sudden departure, Gwen made her way into her house. She’d been back for almost a month now and aside from moving her things into the house, nothing had changed. It was a house, not a home. But Merlin was determined to change that and despite her reservations, she had to admit she was looking forward to doing up the house with him. 

By the time she heard Arthur knock on her door, she’d changed out of her work wear and into a simple t-shirt and shorts. Barefoot, she padded to the door, aware of how her heart had started pounding again. A grinning Arthur stood at her door, tie loosened and holding up a pint of ice cream. 

“You went to get ice cream!” Gwen laughed, feeling strangely pleased, as she took the ice cream from him. “I love ice cream.”

He followed her into the kitchen, smugness in his voice as he replied, “Who doesn’t like ice cream? People with no taste, that’s who. I’m starving.” 

“Is it ok if we eat in the kitchen?” Gwen asked as she pulled out the pie from the over. It was a decision she’d made while waiting for him to turn up. Eating at her dining table would seem too formal, too date-like for her.

“No problem. Can I help?”

Convinced that dinner was going to be both horribly awkward and nerve wracking, especially since not only was Arthur her boss, he was also her longtime crush, Gwen was relieved when it turned out to be the complete opposite. They chatted easily, debating various topics and laughing over each other’s life stories. He was amazingly easy to talk to and he appeared to take a great interest in everything she said., although Gwen told herself repeatedly that it was a skill he required for his job and didn’t mean he was any more interested in her than any of the other clients he had.

“That,” Arthur stretched and rubbed his stomach, “was fantastic. Thank you. I have just enough stomach space for ice cream.”

“Sure.”

“Let me get it. How about we sit outside? I saw you have a little porch swing.” 

That would reek of intimacy but despite her misgivings, she nodded and followed him out. The sun had set and the night sky twinkled down at them. The swing wasn’t very large so Gwen found herself sitting so close to Arthur she imagined she could smell the cologne he used. 

He took a spoonful of ice cream and sighed contentedly. “This was a great idea.”

“Feeling less stressed?”

“For the moment. When I leave, I’m sure it’ll all come rushing back to me.” He rubbed his face and even in the moonlight, Gwen could see the tiredness on his face.

“Why?”

“Why what?” 

“Why do you do it? Work so hard? I notice none of the other lawyers take on such challenging cases at the rate you do.”

Arthur stiffened, then shifted away from her and looked up into the sky. Immediately, Gwen regretted her question. Just because they shared an enjoyable evening together didn’t mean they were friends.

“What about you Gwen? What are you hiding from?”

Startled by the change in subject, she stared blankly at him. “Hiding?”

“You hate this place and you have no intention of settling down here. Yet after all these years, you’re suddenly back and you won’t tell me what happened in your previous job.”

She smiled wryly. “Touche. It wasn’t my place to probe.”

“No,” he agreed pleasantly, then reached to take the ice cream tub from her.


	2. Chapter 2

“You spent the whole weekend going over paint colours with Guinevere?” Arthur asked in disbelief. He couldn’t think of a more boring way to spend a weekend.

“Don’t complain. I did all the work you assigned to me as well. And I even managed to do the Gedref trek. It’s that time of the year when everything is blooming. It was gorgeous.”

“I’m sure,” said Arthur absently. He’d learnt quickly that if he was too encouraging, Merlin wouldn’t stop talking about plants and animals for hours. “Back to the question, why are you and Guinevere looking at paint samples?”

“What kind of question is that? I heard you went over to Gwen’s for dinner. You saw what her house is like.”

Arthur frowned. “It looked like a house.”

“But not a home.”

“She’s not staying for long anyway. Why go to all that trouble?” He and Merlin were having lunch at a nearby cafe, like they usually did. Sometimes Guinevere came with them, but today, she said she had errands to run.

“Because she deserves to have a place she can call home.”

Arthur had a feeling he was missing some important information but after the point he made to her about prying into his life, he really wasn’t in the position to snoop into hers, as curious as he was. Instead, he shrugged and went back to his salad. 

The bell above the cafe door rang and instinctively he looked up. 

Mithian.

While he’d spoken to her now and then on the phone, she’d politely begged off meeting up with him the past week. He waved and when she smiled in return, all the doubts and uncertainties he’d harboured disappeared. She walked over.

“Arthur! Merlin!” 

“Come, join us.” He stood and pulled out a chair for her. 

She smiled at him again, warming his heart. “Don’t mind if I do. And for a moment, I thought I would have to lunch alone.”

“What a tragic disappointment it must be for you to find us here then,” said Merlin as Mithian took a seat. She laughed again. It was beautiful. “So what brings you here?”

“I just came from Meredor Point.” She gestured to the camera bag on her lap. 

That caught Merlin’s interest. “A fashion shoot on Meredor Point?” 

“Oh no,” Mithian smiled and touched Merlin’s arm briefly. “As I told Arthur, I’m hoping to broaden my experiences and one of the things I really would love to do is nature photography. I’m trying to put together a portfolio.”

“I’m sure you’ll be great at it,” said Arthur. “What would you like to eat? I’ll get it for you.”

As Arthur stood at the counter, he watched Merlin and Mithian chat. He hoped Merlin wasn’t being a bore again. But they were smiling and laughing. In fact, Mithian looked quite happy when he returned to their table, her eyes were sparkling and there was a lilt to her voice. Arthur felt a stab of jealousy but brushed it aside. This was Merlin, still-hung-up-on-his-ex Merlin.

After lunch, Merlin went to the gents and Arthur seized the opportunity to ask Mithian out again. At first, he thought he could sense some hesitation but in the end, she agreed. Kissing her on the cheek, he walked her out of the cafe.

A while later, Merlin popped out of the cafe, wiping his hands on the seat of his pants. “So you and Mithian huh? How is that coming along?”

“Could be better, but I am sure it’ll happen.” 

“She’s lovely,” said Merlin blandly and Arthur knew immediately it was a warning. Rolling his eyes, he made his way back to the office.

Back in the office, after clearing some paperwork, Arthur stared at the phone on his table. All he had to do was pick it up and call Morgana. The picking up bit was easy, but he faltered whenever he had to dial the number. He remembered Mordred’s anger and distress, how helpless the young boy felt and how Arthur had promised to help him find justice. 

“Call Merlin in please, Guinevere. You might as well come in too.” 

He looked at Merlin. “I’m planning to call Morgana.” As expected, concern crossed Merlin’s face but Arthur continued before Merlin could say anything. “For the past few weeks, we’ve just run into one brick wall after another. I know Morgana has been looking into Mercia Constructions and I think that she might be able to help us with this.”

“Morgana. Help us?” Arthur could hear the thread of distrust in Merlin’s tone.

“Yes Merlin. Her beef is with my father not me.”

“And that’s why you’ve not spoken to her for almost a year.” Merlin glanced at Guinevere, then back at him. He nodded. It wasn’t anything Guinevere wouldn’t find out soon enough. “Look, you know she thinks you chose your father over her.”

“Yes,” Arthur bit out, inexplicably annoyed at Merlin’s lack of support. “Your point is? I know she hates me and my father. But she’s been investigating Mercia Constructions for a while already, campaigning against what she believes is their poor treatment of their employees so it’ll make sense for her to help us.”

“It would. But this is Morgana we are talking about.”

Arthur sighed. “I just wanted to give you the heads up that I’m doing this. I’ll bear the consequences. Guinevere, you’re going to have my father marching down and ranting to you the moment he finds out.”

She nodded. “I don’t know what transpired between you and Morgana but you’re doing the right thing Arthur. We promised Mordred to do the best we can.”

And for some reason, her words, her use of ‘we’ and her misplaced faith in him, eased the turmoil in him a little. “Thank you.”

Merlin sighed dramatically. 

+

The next few weeks went by in a haze. Yet many things had changed. Most significantly, she’d had a fairly enjoyable lunch with Elyan and Percy once they returned from their honeymoon. Despite their strained relationship, Gwen was pleased to see Elyan so happy. At least one of them had a bright future ahead.

Morgana was not easy to deal with, Gwen learned that quite quickly. She, of course, refused to step foot into the Pendragon Law offices and Gwen found herself with Merlin and Arthur attending clandestine meetings with Morgana and Morgause, apparently her right hand woman, at various seedy cafes in Camelot. Gwen was pretty sure she’d never been to so many hole-in-the-wall cafes in her life. 

This time, the cafe was slightly less seedy. As usual, she was the earliest to arrive. She yawned, feeling the exhaustion from the painting she and Merlin did last night seep through her. She’d already had coffee before leaving home so she refrained from ordering another. Merlin was on a trip out of Camelot for another of Arthur’s cases so this time, it would just be her, Arthur and Morgana. She wasn’t quite sure who she wanted to arrive first. Despite the tentative friendship that she and Arthur had struck up over the past few weeks, Gwen still tried to avoid spending too much time alone with him. Her body still reacted appallingly to Arthur’s closeness although at least now she could comfort herself with the fact that Arthur wasn’t quite as awful as he used to be. Most of the time at least. Morgana, on the other hand, wasn’t someone Gwen wanted to spend time alone with either. While Morgana had, thus far, been fairly cooperative and helpful, Gwen didn’t trust her and neither did Merlin. She wasn’t helping them out of the goodness of her heart. She wanted something from Arthur.

Gwen chewed her lips as she pondered her choices. Perhaps if the gods were smiling on her, both of them would arrive at the same time. 

A tinkle broke into her thoughts and Gwen looked up, but even before her eyes reached the door, she knew who it was. His mouth drawn into a tight line, Arthur marched to where she sat. “Bloody Morgana is not coming,” he snapped.

“Bad day?”

He muttered something under his breath before finally looking at her. Then he sighed. “Yeah. Annis wants the documents in a week early but with Merlin out of Camelot, it means I will have to do it. And Morgana! After all that talk about having proper evidence for us, she stands us up. Mordred is coming over tomorrow.” He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes briefly. Under the awful yellow lighting in the cafe, Arthur looked exhausted, stress written all over his face and Gwen’s heart squeezed.

“I’m sorry.” Without thinking, she reached out and placed her hand on his arm. Under her hand, she could feel his warm skin and rough hair. She rubbed her thumb against his wrist. And suddenly, he flipped his arm around and threaded his fingers through hers. Her throat dried as she realised she was holding his hand. His fingers squeezed hers and a tired smile crossed his face.

“Have I ever mentioned that you’re the best PA I’ve had?”

Laughter escaped her. “That’s not the song you sang yesterday. I remember being told quite bluntly to mind my own business.”

He squeezed her hand again. “Yeah, well. I don’t always deal well with being told off.” A wide smile slowly spread on his face, erasing the stress etched on it just moments before. Her heart started to beat erratically and it took all her self-control not to yank her hand away from his. 

“It wasn’t my place to tell you how to deal with your clients.”

“Normally I’d say that too, but there’s something different about you. And more often than not, you’re right. Like with Mrs Lee and yesterday, as much as I don’t want to admit it, you were right too.” He withdrew his hand and sighed. Gwen curled her now-free hand, wondering why she felt so bereft. “Sometimes, I just feel like I have to be like my father. You’ve heard the gossip around the office haven’t you?”

“I’m not sure you want to hear this but I’m glad you’re not like your father.”

“Yeah? You and Merlin both. Not so much the rest of the firm.” Leaning back into the seat, Arthur stretched out his legs, his shirt lifting up to reveal a strip of bare skin, and Gwen quickly focused her eyes on a random spot on his forehead. “And of course, when it rains, it pours.”

“You two going to order something?” A waiter stumbled up to them and asked lazily. “My boss says if you don’t, you gotta leave.”

“I’ll get a -”

Arthur jumped up from his chair and took her hand again. What was with him today? Still, she let her fingers curl around his. “No, we’re going. Thanks.” He threw down a few notes, then tugged Gwen to her feet and led her out of the cafe and into his car.

Assuming Arthur was going to drive them back to his office, she settled into the seat and closed her eyes. Merlin’s insistence that they stay up to finish painting her living room meant that she was running on less sleep than she was used to. Thankfully, Arthur said nothing, letting her doze off in the car.

The car came to a stop and Gwen opened her eyes, surprised to see that they weren’t at his office. Instead, they were at the park an hour’s drive away, a park she’d avoided ever since she returned to Camelot. Her first thought was that she needed to leave. Before she could say anything, Arthur grinned at her. “I thought we could play hooky today. Merlin isn’t around and Morgana stood us up and frankly I could use a break.”

The flurry of emotions the park caused in her, aided by her tiredness, made her snap at him. “And you didn’t think to ask me before? What if I had a ton of paperwork to do back at the office?”

Arthur’s grin faded and he looked at her with a frown. “I thought it’d be a nice surprise. You looked tired and well, I’ve not had the best of weeks. We could go back, of course.” He smiled tentatively at her and her heart melted. 

Closing her eyes briefly, she told herself she could do this. Quietly she whispered, “No. I mean, a short break would be nice. I just wished you asked me first.” 

When Arthur didn’t reply immediately, Gwen wondered if she’d upset him. Sighing, she got out of the car and scanned the park. At this time of the day, it was quiet, with only a few parents out with their young children. Memories of how her father used to bring her and Elyan to this park for walks swamped her. It was one of the few times she could pretend her family was like everyone else and she didn’t have a mother who was dying or a brother who was constantly in trouble with the law. She remembered how it was here that the threads of her life began unravelling and here that she accused of Elyan of causing her father’s death and how she ran away from Camelot soon after. A lump formed in her throat and she blinked back tears. It had been years. Surely she could be adult about this. 

“We don’t have to do this,” Arthur said as he stepped out of the car. “You’re right. We’re swamped with work and -”

The concern in Arthur’s voice combined with memories of her father and the last time she was at the park were too much and she couldn’t hold back the tears. Walking quickly away from Arthur, she hid behind a large tree, hoping desperately that he wouldn’t follow her. Foolish, she knew but she really didn’t want Arthur to see her like this, to remember the child she used to be. She wanted him to see her as strong and capable. Sobs shook her and she gulped in air, hoping it would make her stop crying. Gwen wasn’t sure how long she stood pressed against the rough bark of the tree but eventually she stopped crying. Scrubbing away the remaining tears with the back of her hands, Gwen emerged from behind the tree to see that Arthur was leaning casually against his car. He moved slightly when he saw her, but otherwise waited for her to reach him.

“Well,” she said as brightly as possible, aware that her face was probably a mess. “I think we should probably head back to the office. Or you could just drop me off -”

Her voice trailed off when Arthur gently cupped her face with his hand, used a handkerchief to wipe around her eyes, then her cheek. All the time, he watched her tenderly but said nothing. Then he dropped his hand and sucked in a breath and for a moment, Gwen wondered if he was about to sack her. 

“Come on, we are going to play hooky. Just not here.” He slipped into the car and after a moment’s hesitation, Gwen entered the car as well.

“Where are we going?”

He smiled. “How do you feel about go karting?”

“I’ve never done it before.”

“Brilliant. It’s about time you tried.” He cast a glance at her. “Plus it’s really good for releasing stress.”

Arthur was right. As Gwen sped down the track, laughing and warning Arthur she was going trash him at this, all the things weighing on her shoulders disappeared. Despite her best efforts, Arthur beat her every round. As she stumbled out of the go kart, with Arthur’s warm grip on her elbow, she chided Arthur for not letting her win.

He threw his head back in laughter. “Surely you would rather win on your own merits.”

“Huh, I’ve learnt a win is a win, no matter how you got it.”

“Guinevere! And here I thought you were a woman of morals! Had I known, I’d never have hired you.”

This time, she laughed. “So says the lawyer.” 

Arthur rolled his eyes, then lunged forward and tickled her, causing her to scream. 

After go karting, they had lunch at a small pub which had a duck pond. Gwen tossed them bread from her sandwich, to much disapproval from Arthur. Then, they watched a romantic comedy, stuffing themselves with popcorn and soft drinks. 

“If only life was like a romcom,” said Gwen lightly as they left the movie. “I would meet my perfect match, he would be head over heels in love with me, we’ll get married and my life would be perfect.”

Arthur laughed. “If only.”

“I bet you have females throwing themselves all over you anyway.”

“I work far too much and anyway, the one person I want doesn’t seem to want me.” The warmth and happiness that cocooned her over the course of the day faded as she remembered that despite the laughter and fun they shared, any feelings of intimacy were purely fantasy on her part. 

“Mithian?” 

Arthur nodded and Gwen felt her heart break. So she plastered on a bright smile.

“You must really like her.” Gwen wasn’t sure why she was even pursuing the topic. They reached his car and he opened the door for her. “Not that it’s surprising.”

“Yeah. Frankly, I thought things were going well in the beginning but I have a feeling that she’s been trying to avoid me the past few days. I don’t want to push her but, well, I think we work well together.” Arthur started the car and for a while they sat in silence.

“You know, I’m going out with her this weekend. We’re going to look at furniture for our bedrooms.”

“You’re really redecorating your house!”

“Merlin is very enthusiastic about it. Anyway, maybe if I talked you up a bit, Mithian might be more open to a relationship?”

The car pulled to a stop at a red light and Arthur turned to look at her, but Gwen couldn’t read his expression in the darkness of the car. “Are you offering to matchmake me?”

“Well I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

“Hmm.”

“Well?”

“What about you? Do you have your eye on anyone?”

You, she wanted to say but wisely kept her mouth shut. “You want to play matchmaker too?”

“Seems like I should do something for you as well. But if you have no one in mind, I think I can introduce you to a few people.”

She sat up in the seat. “What?”

“This is a great idea! You sell me to Mithian and I will find you a match. I know lots of people.” 

“Arthur, I don’t know about this.”

“You like men right?”

“Yes but -”

“And you’re open to a relationship?”

“I suppose.” Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea. She couldn’t realistically continue to harbour feelings for Arthur and perhaps meeting new men would stop her completely inappropriate feelings. “You’re right. I should meet new men.”

“Great. So we have a deal?”

Although Gwen insisted he didn’t need to, Arthur still walked her to her door. It felt far too much like a date and her body was completely ignoring the sensible messages her brain was sending and her heart started to speed up. 

“I had fun,” he smiled, standing far too close to her. 

“Me too,” she said, appalled that her voice came out huskier than usual.

Thankfully, Arthur took a step back before she did something foolish like lift herself up for a kiss. “I hope you feel better. I’ll see you at work tomorrow. I imagine we’ll have quite the pile of work to get through.”

She stood at her door, watching him walk away. Then she closed her eyes and wondered again why her life wasn’t a romcom. If it had been, she would probably be in her apartment being kissed desperately by Arthur. Images of Arthur’s hand sliding up her arm until he was cupping her face, his thumb stroking her lips before he brought his head down flashed in her head and she quickly shut them out. She did not want to fantasize about Arthur she told herself firmly as she finally entered her home. She needed a cold shower.

+

“I cannot believe that I was in Essetir doing research when you and Gwen were out go karting and watching movies!” Merlin grumbled as he stomped into his office and tossed down a file Arthur assumed contained the fruits of his labour. 

“I’d give you the day off today but Mordred is coming in and after Morgana let us down yesterday, I’m not facing him alone.”

Merlin flopped on his sofa again, stretched then wriggled until he was happy with his position. “Did you have fun then?”

Arthur thought back to the day before, remembering how carefree he felt and how much he’d laughed. He hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. “Yeah, it was good.”

“You certainly look more relaxed. I take it Morgana didn’t have any evidence for you?”

“Nope. In fact, she didn’t even bother to turn up, just sent me a curt text message.” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck as the usual tension started creeping up on him. “I’m pretty certain she has evidence. She’s just holding out on us.”

“Hmm. So we’re sure that instead of tossing the faulty parts, Mercia Constructions used them in order to save costs. And Morgana claims that she has evidence of this.”

“Essentially. If she does come through with the evidence, then we’re all good. Mercia’s lawyers still think we’re floundering so that’s one thing. I rather them be smug and overconfident.”

The phone rang and when Arthur heard Guinevere’s voice, he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. It didn’t last long when she announced that Mordred had arrived. A short while later, Guinevere was showing Mordred in. With a look, Arthur indicated she should stay.

“I think we should get the news out, put it on twitter, facebook.” Mordred, dressed in his usual black clothes slumped on the chair and glared sullenly at Arthur.

“I know the case is moving quite slowly but that isn’t the solution.”

“We need to publicise this - tell the world of what Mercia Constructions is really like -”

Arthur sighed. “And we will do that in due time. Right now -”

“I’m tired of waiting! That’s all I have been doing. Waiting. Waiting for my father to get better. Waiting for justice to be served.” Mordred suddenly stopped talking and looked up at Arthur, a mix of defiance and vulnerability in his eyes and Arthur felt guilt rise in him. He was just a young kid having to deal with a really lousy situation. Quietly, Mordred said, “He’s going to be coming home this weekend.”

“How are you going to cope?” Arthur asked.

“Like I always do. He can move around on his wheelchair. Anyway, that’s not your business. Your business is to make sure my father gets justice!”

“Of course. But even when we get enough evidence to move forward with a trial, that itself will take some time. You need to understand -”

Mordred pushed himself off the chair, his eyes flashing with anger. “What I want to understand is how a company can treat my father who was a loyal and hard worker like this!”

“Mordred -”

“Forget it. You’re like them. All you rich corporate men.” Grabbing his bag, Mordred stomped out of the office.

“That went well. At least he didn’t break anything this time,” said Merlin as he got off the sofa. 

Guinevere moved from where she was standing and he remembered he’d asked her to stay. “I’m worried about him.”

“I know. His anger and frustration is only going to make things more difficult for us.” 

“I wasn’t thinking about the case. I was thinking about Mordred. I noticed from the files that he doesn’t have any other family so it’s just him and his father. He’s so young. How will he cope?”

His mind still on how to best salvage the case, he waved a hand. “We should focus on the case and how -”

“He’s a kid!”

“Gwen -” Merlin stepped forward.

“He’s a kid who has to go to school and look after a father who can no longer walk and your only concern is the case?”

“If you hadn’t noticed, that’s Mordred’s biggest concern as well,” Arthur said tightly, annoyed at her tone and assumptions. “And I am responsible only for the case. It would do no one any good if I spent all my time looking after him and not working on the case. And if you didn’t notice, he’s not exactly open to help.”

“That doesn’t mean we just leave him to struggle on his own!”

Arthur sighed. “I’ll think about it ok? Right now, I have this other case to work on. Guinevere, try and set up another meeting with Morgana.”

She still looked dissatisfied but she nodded and left the office.

“Why didn’t you tell her that you paid off Mordred’s university fees?” Merlin asked as he sat down opposite Arthur. 

He shrugged. “She’s right though. He is only a kid.”

“He’s a kid who’s been talking to Morgana.” 

“What? I told Morgana -”

Merlin shook his head, interrupting him. “Like Morgana listens to anyone. All you rich corporate men. Exactly what Morgana would say.”

Arthur let his head fall into his hands and groaned. Merlin was right. Clearly, Morgana had somehow gotten to Mordred despite his best attempts at keeping them apart. No wonder he was going on about talking to the news. Publicity - it’s exactly what Morgana loved. 

“Damn.”

“Yeah. Not going to say I told you so -”

“You just did.”

“So what now?” Merlin leaned back into the chair. “Frankly, to win this case, Morgana is our best hope as much as I dislike her methods and being in her debt. No one will go on the record but there’s a lot of gossip that fits with the evidence Morgana claims to have.”

Sighing deeply, Arthur said, “Looks like we’re going to figure out how to work with Morgana.” He pulled out some of the papers from the file Merlin gave him earlier. “How was Essetir anyway?”

“Boring. It’s an industrial town - everything is grey. I’m amazed Gwen lived there for so many years. I did manage to interview Mrs Ganesh and she more or less collaborated everything we heard.”

“Great. Let’s have a look then.”

When, later that day, Guinevere informed him that his father was looking for him, it was just the icing on a very long day. Katherine eyed him warily as he approached his father’s office. That wasn’t a good sign. Still, he put on a smile, nodded politely to Katherine, then entered the lion’s den.

“The Mordred case,” his father said without preamble. “I’ve had a call from Olaf yesterday. It seems you turned down yet another deal?” Silhouetted by the sun, he looked the imposing figure he was and Arthur had to remind himself he was no longer that 5 year old boy at his father’s mercy. 

“It’s my case.”

“And this is my firm. You are fighting a losing battle and everyone is talking about this, laughing behind our backs. We’re not some sort of scraping the bottom personal injury law firm. We are a distinguished firm with years of history and you, my son of all people, are dragging this firm’s reputation down.”

“Mordred has a case. It’s not easy but he and his father deserve justice and I am going to try my best to give it to them.” Arthur stated as neutrally as possible. He did not want to end up in a shouting match with his father. “This is my case and after all I’ve done for the firm, you should trust me to do what is best.”

Uther sighed loudly and slammed the mug he was holding onto the table. Dread pooling in him, Arthur noticed the lines of anger etched on his father’s face. “I am giving you two more months. By then, if you do not have a strong case to bring to court, then I want you to settle.”

“But -”

“You report to me Arthur and you will do as I say. I have been too lax on you recently and you’re starting to let your heart colour your decisions.”

“Father -”

“Like your new PA. I thought she looked familiar then I asked HR. She’s that Thomas girl isn’t she? It’s bad enough that you socialise with her criminal brother on occasion but to actually hire her?”

His hackles rose and all determination not to fight with his father disappeared. “Guinevere has been a wonderful PA.”

“Her father was a -”

“Don’t. I know you and him had your differences. I know you think the whole family is the scum of the earth but you will not treat Guinever or talk to her any less than the way you speak to anyone else in this firm.”

A vein throbbed in Uther’s jaw but he nodded curtly. “Get out and don’t forget who is in charge here. Two months.”

It was childish but Arthur slammed the door behind him. Katherine frowned in disapproval but he simply ignored her.

+

Merlin was perched on her desk frantically texting someone. She leaned over and tried to peek but Merlin tsked at her before hiding his phone. 

“Do you have a secret girlfriend? Because I’m your best friend and this is the sort of thing you should tell me.” Gwen asked, laughing as she shoved Merlin gently to get him off her files. Both of them were waiting for Arthur to return from his meeting with his father. It was past office hours but Merlin was determined to wait for Arthur and since Gwen didn’t have anything pressing on, she waited with Merlin.

“Uh -” Merlin glanced around, then moved closer to her. “Actually, it’s Mithian.”

“You’re dating Mithian? Isn’t Arthur -”

“No, we’re just friends. Why do you look so upset?” Merlin narrowed his eyes, looking at her suspiciously. “I know Arthur is interested in her. I wouldn’t do that to him. More importantly, since when do you care about Arthur’s love life?”

“I don’t,” she muttered and tugged at the file Merlin was sitting on. She didn’t care about Arthur’s love life outside of that little deal they made. “Stop sitting on my file.”

“Something is up between you and Arthur. Spill.” Merlin tapped her nose and she swiped at him. He could be so annoying at times. “Don’t make me ask Arthur.” Then he made that face he always did when he was trying to persuade her to do something. She rolled her eyes but felt herself caving already.

“Arthur and I have a deal -”

“Are you two going to marry each other in the event that you two are single at 40?”

“What? No! That’s ridiculous!” She shoved at him harder this time and laughing, he pushed himself off her table, only to lean against it right next to her chair. 

“Well then, what deal is it?”

Suddenly feeling very self conscious about the whole thing, Gwen turned to face her monitor, cursing under her breath when she saw Merlin’s grinning mug reflected in it. “Basically, I said I would put in a good word for him with Mithian and he’d introduce me to his eligible friends.”

Merlin’s grin got impossibly larger. “That’s brilliant.”

“Really?”

“Arthur has some really interesting friends. Hmm, let’s see. Gwaine is quite the charmer but maybe you’d prefer the more romantic Lance.” He plopped himself on her table again. “And don’t worry, I’m not going to agree to Mithian’s suggestion that we check out The White Mountains this weekend.”

“I wasn’t serious anyway.”

Eyebrows raised, Merlin said, “I think Arthur is pretty serious about Mithian. He thinks she’s the answer to - oh, Arthur’s back.”

Immediately, Gwen looked up and saw Arthur, his face a blank mask, eyes colder than she’d seen before. Merlin glanced at her as Arthur stomped past them and shut himself in his office. hat

“He’s always like this after a serious meeting with his father,” murmured Merlin. 

Gwen stared at Arthur’s office door. In spite of everything, she and her father had a pretty good relationship. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to have a father like Uther Pendragon. Clearly it wasn’t easy. 

“I’m going in,” said Merlin after they had been waiting for a while. 

Through the door, Gwen heard raised voices and her heart sank. Eventually, after she’d arranged and rearranged her table several times, the two men emerged from Arthur’s office. Merlin looked vaguely pleased and the anger that was all over Arthur’s face earlier had softened into unhappiness.

“Arthur’s buying dinner. Want to join us?” Merlin chirped happily, his eyes suggesting she’d better agree. Beside him, Arthur said nothing.

Picking her bag up, she nodded and followed them out of the building.

By the time dessert arrived, Arthur’s mood had improved considerably and he and Merlin were embroiled in an argument over which one of them was better at cooking. Gwen had already been deemed the winner (despite her pointing out that she was really only good at baking) and the two of them were fighting for second place.

“This cake is divine,” sighed Gwen during a rare lull in Arthur’s and Merlin’s squabble. Then she looked up to see Arthur staring at her with a strange look on his face. She grinned and licked her spoon, then squeaked when Arthur knocked over the salt bottle. 

“Sorry!” Arthur grabbed a napkin and swept up the salt. When she reached over to help, her hand brushed against his and he snatched it away as if he had been burned. She looked up at him but he turned away.

Merlin didn’t even notice. “This is silly. Why are we arguing over cooking with words? We should actually demonstrate our cooking abilities.”

“What? Like a cooking competition?” Arthur tossed the napkin on the table and shifted his chair away from her. “Because I am game if you are.”

“Brilliant. Sunday. Your kitchen. Gwen will judge.” Merlin looked at her and she nodded. If nothing, she would at least get a free meal out of it.

Frowning, Arthur shook his head. “That’s completely unfair.”

Brushing aside that strange moment, Gwen put on a look of mock outrage. “Are you suggesting that I cannot be trusted to be unbiased?”

“I remember someone saying she’ll take a win anyway she can get it. This does not give me much faith in your morals.” Gwen gasped. “And, you’ve been Merlin’s friend forever. I think I am at a disadvantage.”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Arthur looked at her and was about to say something when Merlin interrupted. “Fine. You look for someone unbiased to judge then. I’m confident that I will triumph no matter what.”

“You know, I have just the person in mind,” Arthur replied, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Just the person.”

“Who?” 

Arthur raised an imperious eyebrow at Merlin. “You’ll just have to wait to find out.” He paused, then said in a much quieter voice. “Thank you for tonight.”

“I wouldn’t mind a raise. You know, as a show of gratitude.”

“Shut up Merlin.”

Arthur dropped Merlin off first, leaving them both alone in his car together. For most part, they chatted lightly about inconsequentials things like how it was ridiculous that Uther thought Monday morning meetings were a boost to productivity. 

“So, any cooking tips?”

“I thought you were confident of winning,” Gwen laughed lightly. “You have cooked before right?” He didn’t respond and she looked over at him, sighing when she saw a hint of a smile on his face. “You have never cooked?”

“I’ve made the odd sandwich,” Arthur muttered mutinously.

The smile on her face widened and she bit her lip to stop the laughter that was bubbling up in her at his expression of defiance and uncertainty.

He cleared his throat. “I also watch Chef King.”

Gwen couldn’t contain her laughter anymore, unable to get the image of Arthur lazing in front of the television, with a bag of chips, engrossed in the antics of the contestants on Chef King out of her mind. “Chef King? Really? The show whose biggest draw on Tuesday was - oh my god, I remember now. You rushed home from work on Tuesday because you wanted to watch the food fight.”

His mouth twitched but he stared straight ahead and said nothing. She poked his side. “Come on Arthur. Admit you’re a fan of a cheesy, trashy reality show.”

“It’s a serious cooking competition. And stop poking me. I’m driving.”

“So,” Gwen smirked, “you’re Arthur Pendragon, son of the most powerful guy in town, alumni of the country’s best university and a successful lawyer but your idea of fun is romantic comedies and reality shows.”

“It’s not like I watch Leather and Cuffs: Home with Cenred.”

Gwen laughed some more. “Does Merlin know about this?”

Pulling to a stop outside her apartment block, Arthur killed the engine then turned to stare at her. “What do you think? He’s nosey as hell. Of course he knows. In fact, he loves Rebuild My Life. You should ask him about it.”

“Did you two bond over your love for reality shows? I’ve always known of Merlin’s predilection for reality TV but you -” She chuckled.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “What is so funny?”

“It just doesn’t fit my image of you.”

Shifting in his seat so he was facing her, Arthur cocked his head, curiosity in his eyes. “Your image of me? What exactly is your image of me?”

“Look, thanks for the lift home -” Gwen pushed open the door and moved to leave.

Swiftly, Arthur put his hand on her arm and she froze at the feel of his skin against hers. “Nope. You don’t get off so easily. Tell me what your image of me is.” When she looked back at him, he flashed her a grin, one of those that made her shiver inside.

“Um, you’re smart and ambitious.” There was no way in hell she was going to be honest with him, not when his hand was on her arm and he was staring at her with those eyes. 

His finger touched her chin and he smiled. “Liar,” he whispered. 

She swallowed, unable to stop looking at him. “I also thought you were out of touch with the ordinary people -”

“- arrogant and insufferable and selfish -”

“You remember.”

“When I hired you, I didn’t quite expect to be put in my place on your first day of work.”

“If it helps, I don’t think that anymore.” Finally she found the strength to move away from his light touch. “It’s late and -”

“Guinevere. Hey.” Again he touched her. “As much as I am loathe to admit it, I deserved that.”

“You did.”

It was that smile again and if he kept it up, she was going to be a puddle of goo on his seat. “Mmm. Let me walk you to your door.”

At her door, he smiled and brushed a kiss against her cheek. For the rest of the night, she imagined she could still feel the touch of his lips. Sighing, she punched her pillow then hoped desperately that whichever guy Arthur was planning to hook her up with would be able to distract her from her hopeless crush.

+

Morgana continued to play cat and mouse with them and Arthur was frustrated. Meetings were set up, then abandoned and all attempts by him or Merlin to contact her proved futile. Not unsurprisingly, Mordred was becoming more and more tetchy about the whole situation and while Arthur didn’t particularly enjoy being yelled at, Mordred’s current attitude of icy refusal to engage worried him even more. 

He slammed the folder close and swore under his breath. He needed air. Picking up the phone, he called Merlin, his bad mood deepening when it was clear that Merlin was not in his office. It didn’t matter. A cup of coffee at the cafe round the corner would clear his mind. 

“Guinevere!” As usual, she was buried in files and he smiled at the sight. There was something comforting about being able to leave his office and see her there. 

“Mr Pendragon?” She looked up from the files, slightly ruffled. “What can I do for you?”

“How about giving me some company? I’ve just got off the phone with Morgana’s PA and I need a break.” 

“Umm -” She looked like she was about to turn him down and for some reason, it was suddenly important that she join him.

“Come on. You’ve been working hard too. Let me buy you a coffee.” She still looked unconvinced, chewing on her lip as she looked up at him. Something clenched in him and he cleared his throat. “Don’t make me order you.”

Guinevere sighed, then dropped her pen onto the table, grabbed her purse and stood up. Although she rolled her eyes at him, he could see the slight smile that she was trying to hold back. Pleasure curled in him. “Lead the way.”

As expected, the little cafe was buzzing with people and it took them awhile before they could secure two seats at the corner. He quickly grabbed a coffee and a tea from the counter then settled down next to Guinevere. “Don’t all these people have to work?”

“Maybe their bosses are lazy and made them take time off work to hang out at a cafe.” She returned his answering grin. “You realise it’s the second time you’ve pulled me out of work.”

“Don’t you think that makes me a great boss?”

“I think that makes you a lazy boss. I’m going to have to put in overtime to finish my work now.” 

“You wound me with your words. But seriously, thank you. It wouldn’t do me much good to sit here alone, brooding.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” She shifted and looked at him with those earnest, warm eyes. Who wouldn’t want to confide in her? 

He hadn’t meant to but he told her of the frustration of dealing with Morgana, how it brought back memories of her scheming when she was still a part of the family, how his father was still breathing down his neck, issuing threats Arthur was no longer sure were empty and how Mordred was becoming less and less cooperative. “Basically, the whole case is falling apart and I feel completely helpless. I shouldn’t have taken this on in the first place. My father was right -”

Guinevere’s hand covered his and he stilled at her touch. “No. Your father cared only about the reputation of the firm. That’s why he didn’t want you to take on the case. You took it because you cared about justice and about Mordred.”

“I took it because I wanted to thumb my nose at my father,” he muttered, wondering why the disappointment that he wasn’t truly how Guinevere described him was so keen. 

Her hand tightened. “No, you took it because despite all your bluster, you’re a good man deep inside and you give me hope.” 

“Hope?” 

Guinevere snatched away her hand and Arthur, with much amusement, caught sight of a faint blush staining her cheeks. “Nothing. I spoke without thinking.”

“Well, I think you need to tell me how I give you hope.”

Her eyes focused on the tea in front of her, Guinevere said nothing for a while and Arthur was all ready to change the topic when she suddenly spoke again. “Because you’re not your father. Your father practically destroyed my family. And for a long time, I believed that you and Morgana were no different.”

This time, it was Arthur who placed his hand on her. “And that is why you left Camelot?”

“Yes. My brother was young, reckless, foolish but your father insisted on prosecuting him after he and his friends vandalised the monument he sponsored -”

“The one at the park we went to.”

She nodded. “He let the others off, but insisted my brother was the ringleader.”

“I remember that.” He’d spoken to his father about it then, incensed that Elyan was the only one from the whole gang to be punished, harshly too, but his father refused to be budged. “I’m sorry my father was - is - such an ass.” Looking at Guinevere’s solemn expression, he resisted the urge to gather her into a hug and promise her he would make it better. He hadn’t been able to make it better then, had he? 

Her eyes flickered up to his. “I know you tried. Elyan told me.”

“And yet you think I was like my father?” He smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. 

A smile graced her face. “That’s my point. You’re not like your father and your name has influence in this town. So this give me hope. Anyway,” she sat up straight. “I think talking too much about you means giving you a big head, so how about we think about what can be done to salvage the Mordred case? I mean, I may not have much legal knowledge but maybe I can offer a different perspective.”

“Why not? But before that, how about sharing a cheesecake?”

By the time the two of them made it back to the office where a disgruntled looking Merlin greeted them, Arthur had a genesis of a plan in his mind. 

“What is with you and Gwen?”

“What? Nothing. We just needed a change in environment.” Merlin’s raised eyebrow suggested that he didn’t quite believe Arthur but Arthur merely brushed him off. He had ideas to share. “Anyway, I’ve come up with a plan - don’t know why I’ve never thought of it before but we’re going to bluff Mercia Constructions.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow.

Arthur continued, ignoring Merlin’s look. “So, they don’t know that we don’t have any evidence yet from Morgana. What we will do is put out some hints that we do actually have evidence and press them into a deal.”

“They are hardly amateurs. They will call your bluff and then what will you do?”

“True. But as far as I can tell, they don’t even know we are talking to Morgana so I think the fact that we have been in contact with them will make Mercia Construction wary. Right now, I just want to get the best deal possible for Mordred.”

“Good luck telling Mordred that.”

The good mood he was in after coffee seeped out of him. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. Guinevere had had such faith in him that he’d been swept along and actually believed that he would be able to salvage this mess of a case. His father was right. He should never have taken this up.

“Look Arthur, it won’t hurt to try it,” said Merlin. “But you just have to manage Mordred.”

“How about you -”

Merlin raised his hands and took a step back. “Nope. You know we don’t get along. Anyway, on to more important things.” Arthur could hear the amusement in Merlin’s voice and he braced himself for bad news “Don’t forget! Tomorrow, 3pm at Guinevere’s place. Bring your judge!” 

He had completely forgotten. Luckily he was charming and resourceful and smart because with a single phone call, he easily snagged himself a judge for the cooking competition.


	3. Chapter 3

“How’s the renovations going?” Mithian asked as she gently jiggled the tea bag in her cup. An irrational flash of jealousy swept through Gwen. Even drinking tea, Mithian was the epitome of grace and beauty. No wonder Arthur was smitten.

Immediately ashamed of her wayward thoughts, Gwen quickly replied. “Not so great. Arthur has a lot on his plate and this means that Merlin and I have been working several weekends. And when we do have time off, Merlin and I are completely unproductive. We were supposed to strip the wallpaper from the study last week but we ended up making popcorn and watching Die Hard - Merlin’s choice by the way.” The thing was, as jealous as Gwen was of Mithian, she also genuinely liked the photographer. It was nice to have a friend in Camelot who hadn’t been part of her past here. 

“Arthur does seem to be very busy,” mused Mithian, her long, elegant fingers absently stroking the table cloth. “He keeps you and Merlin busy too.” As if trying to torture herself, Gwen imagined Mithian’s fingers running against Arthur’s collar bone before moving lower. 

The deal she made with Arthur popped into her mind. “Arthur is very dedicated to his job.”

“I noticed.”

“He’s also not like his father at all.”

Mithian’s fingers stopped moving. “Ok.”

“And he’s kind and principled and generous -” Gwen groaned inwardly. She was making a mess of this. “He’s a good man,” she ended, her cheeks burning.

“What are you doing Gwen?” 

She sighed and hoped silently that Arthur wouldn’t be too upset at her lack of subtlety. “You realise that Arthur likes you. A lot.”

Mithian even blushed prettily. It was a good thing Gwen knew a lost cause when she saw one and didn’t fancy herself in competition with Mithian. She would never measure up. “I know. He’s not exactly kept it a secret.”

“No. I think he feels you’re not as interested.”

“You two discuss me?” Thankfully Mithian sounded more amused than angry. 

Gwen shrugged. They didn’t really discuss Mithian, not after the day they made that deal. “You should give him a chance. He’s a good catch.”

“If he’s such a good catch, why aren’t you interested?” Mithian took a sip of her tea, her eyes on Gwen and for a moment, Gwen wondered if how she felt about Arthur was written all over her face. 

“He’s not quite my type. I prefer my men more ordinary.”

Mithian frowned. “Like Merlin.”

“Like Merlin,” laughed Gwen as she pictured Merlin’s indignation at being called ordinary. 

“You’ve known Merlin for long? He’s always talking about you.”

“I’ve known him since we were babies. My mother used to babysit him.” Gwen grinned teasingly. “Has he been telling you stories about me?”

Mithian’s cup clattered onto the saucer and flustered, she shook her head. “Oh no! No! Merlin wouldn’t say anything bad about you. It’s always ‘Gwen and I’ this and ‘Gwen and I’ that.”

“Hey, no. I was just joking. Merlin is a great friend. He’s been a great friend to me and I don’t know what I’d do without him.” 

For a while Mithian said nothing. Instead, she looked at her cup, seemingly deep in thought. Uncertain of what caused the change in atmosphere, Guinevere took a gulp of her tea and glanced at the little sign on the table advertising the specials at the cafe. 

Afternoon tea special.

Buy one pastry and get a coffee on the house.

“About Arthur,” Mithian suddenly said. “He really likes me?”

“Yeah. He does.” Gwen took a breath to calm her racing heart. “He’s a great guy -”

Mithian’s lips lifted into a smile. “You don’t have to sell him to me. You’re right. Arthur is well-off, handsome, kind - what’s not to like?”

Despite the fact that she’d just been trying to persuade Mithian to give Arthur another chance, her heart sank. It looked like she had just upheld her side of the bargain. She smied brightly at Mithian. “Great. I hope you two work out. How about I get the bill and we continue to check out bed frames?”

“Sure. Who knew bed frames were so difficult to shop for?”

This time, Gwen’s smile was genuine. “Who knew. After that sales lady explained to us all the nuances invovled in purchasing a bed frame, I’m considering sleeping on the floor instead.”

“How about a deal? We’ll look for bed frames for another half hour. If we can’t find any, we’ll just give up, call it a day and go for a nice dinner somewhere.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

+

Guinevere was perched on a stool in her kitchen, watching with growing amusement as Merlin scurried around her kitchen, opening drawers and cupboards.

“Knowing where I stash my pots and pans isn’t going to make you a better cook.”

Merlin simply grunted and continued poking through her kitchen, the kitchen she’d to hurriedly clean after a long day of walking the mall looking for bed frames because Merlin decided that having their little cooking competition in Arthur’s home would be giving him too much of an unfair advantage.

“What time is Arthur supposed to be coming? And who is he bringing as the second judge?”

“I have no idea who he is bringing,” Merlin said. 

“I invited Mithian.”

There was a clatter, followed quickly by a yell, then a sheepish looking Merlin popped up from behind the counter, rubbing his forehead. “Bumped my head.”

“You don’t mind, do you? I thought it’ll be good if Mithian saw that Arthur could cook.”

Merlin’s eyebrows shot up. “You actually believe Arthur can cook?”

“Well, I believe you can cook so I figure I owe Arthur the same.” Gwen pursed her lips, trying not to smile as she remembered the last time Merlin tried to cook. Of course, they were still teenagers then and maybe Merlin had learnt to cook after all these time, but, Gwen was skeptical. 

“You’re taking this deal thing seriously.”

“I promised Arthur that I would help him woo Mithian and you know I don’t renege on my promises.” No matter how much they hurt, she said silently.

“I hope Arthur holds up his end of the bargain. After you-know-who -”

“Merlin! You can say his name!”

“Ok, after what Jonathan did to you in Essetir, you’ve not dated at all.”

Gwen shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. “Can you blame me?”

“Of course not,” Merlin said quietly, slipping from behind the counter to her side and pulling her into a hug. “He was an ass and a jerk and he shouldn’t be the reason you don’t date.”

“Yeah. I know.” She sighed, then stepped out of Merlin’s hug. “It’s difficult.” Merlin nodded silently, probably thinking that it was difficult because of what Jonathan did when it was really difficult because she was in love with someone unattainable.

She stilled at her thoughts. In love? Obviously she meant had a crush on, she told herself firmly.

“Are you alright? I’m sorry I brought him up -”

The doorbell rang, interrupting Merlin’s words and snapping Gwen out of her thoughts. Quickly, she slid off the stool and went to the door, thankful for the interruption.

“Mithian! You’re early.” Gwen took the flowers and bottle of wine from Mithian, then ushered her into the ktichen. 

“I know but I wanted to see your place and the renovations you’ve been doing - oh Merlin! Hi.” For a brief moment, Gwen thought that Mithian sounded almost flustered but she brushed it off. Mithian was always cool and collected. Grabbing a vase, Gwen arranged the flowers, leaving Merlin and Mithian to chat. As she heard the two of them discussing the best time to walk the White Mountains trail, Gwen smiled wryly. Getting along with Merlin would please Arthur tremendously. 

Later, they left Merlin in the kitchen as Gwen brought Mithian around her house.

“You’re right. You should do up your bedroom. All the browns and greys really isn’t you at all.”

“It was my brother’s. I was really thinking about yellow and green. Remember that overly expensive bed frame with the iron wrought headboard?”

Mithian nodded. “A garden theme?”

“Something like that. What do you think?”

“It would be lovely, especially if you use that ledge you have over there to put some flowers or plants.”

Gwen grinned. “My thoughts exactly. Of course, I’m terrible at keeping plants alive but I figure Merlin can deal with any live plants I acquire.”

“Merlin.” Mithian repeated.

“Yeah. I haven’t told him yet though so don’t mention it to him!”

“I -”

The doorbell rang again. From the kitchen, Merlin hollered that he would get it and within moments, Gwen could hear Arthur’s voice and immediately her heart jumped and she smoothed down the dress she was wearing instinctively.

Mithian didn’t seem the least bothered. “Merlin comes over often?”

“All the time! Sometimes I tell him that he should just move in. Come on. Arthur is here. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you.”

Mithian gave her a brief smile and they made their way back to the kitchen.

+

In his car, outside Guinevere’s apartment block, Arthur had already given Gwaine a long lecture on how he should act with Guinevere. Now, as they stood in her small kitchen, he wondered if introducing Gwaine to her was even a good idea. Maybe Lance would have been a better choice. Lance took everything seriously and from what he’d heard from Elaine, he was a devoted and loving boyfriend. Didn’t Guinevere deserve that? But Lance was always so intense and Guinevere seemed to be full of painful secrets. Gwaine, on the other hand, would be someone fun, someone who could put a smile on Guinevere’s face.

“Remember, if you’re not interested, don’t lead her on,” Arthur hissed as he heard someone approach the kitchen.

“I really have to meet this lady you’re so protective over,” laughed Gwaine. “And I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself.”

He was just about to warn Gwaine again when Mithian stepped into the room. No one had told him she would be here and whatever he was about to say faltered on his lips as he stared at her. Dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, she was still a sight to behold. Then Guinevere popped in from behind, her curls bouncing freely around her face. She smiled at him and he tore his gaze from Mithian and grinned at Guinevere, pleased that she looked like she was in a good mood.

“One of you must be Guinevere,” said Gwaine as he walked towards them, a deliberate swagger in his steps. 

Arthur watched as Guinevere’s eyes widened in surprise just as she reached out her hand to take Gwaine’s. “That’s me.” Was her breathlessness a sign that she was interested in Gwaine? That was a good thing, he told himself firmly, ignoring the strange sense of discomfort that he was feeling. “And this is Mithian.”

Gwaine shook Mithian’s hand but Arthur could see that his eyes were firmly on Guinevere, who flushed under his gaze. 

“I didn’t realise you’d be here,” Arthur stepped to stand next to Mithian.

“Gwen invited me. Said that it would be a good chance to have Merlin and you cook for me.” 

“I would cook for you any time.”

Mithian turned to him, placed her hand in his and said quietly, “I might just take you up on that offer.”

Whatever Guinevere said to Mithian, it was clearly working. Curling his fingers around hers, he tugged her over to the counter, where Merlin stood, imperiously waving a wooden spoon.

“Welcome all to the Merlin-Arthur cooking showdown!” Merlin said. “May I introduce our judges - Guinevere Thomas, expert pie baker and Gwaine Green, umm, expert -”

“Eater!” Everyone laughed and Arthur looked over at Gwaine who was standing almost plastered against Gwen. 

“So, I’m going to be making chicken pot pie and Arthur - what are you making?”

“Steak and potatoes.”

“Brilliant. Since you’re the neutral observer here, would you like to declare the competition started, Mithian?”

Her hand slipped from his. “Of course.”

And just like that, Arthur found himself on the wrong side of a kitchen, staring at an array of pots and pans. Gingerly, he picked up a peeler and a potato. He’d just practised this last night. He could do this. Sucking in a deep breath, he frowned, gripped the peeler tightly and applied it to the potato.

+

“This,” chuckled Gwaine, “was possibly the most eclectic meal that I’ve ever had. Yummy though, thanks to me.”

In the end, neither he nor Merlin managed to cook a complete meal decently. He had left his potatoes to blanch for far too long and by the time he remembered, they had more or less dissolved into the water, completely unsalvageable. Merlin hadn’t fared much better when he’d burnt his pie crust. Arthur had over cooked the steak and Merlin forgot to put salt in his pie. In the end, Gwaine had taken over the kitchen, surprising everyone with how he took whatever was left over and made a semi-decent meal out of it.

“I declare Gwaine the best cook,” said Guinevere, her eyes twinkling as she looked at Gwaine. “I trust no one has any objections.”

The rest of the dinner went by pleasantly. Talk flowed easily between the five of them and for a while, Arthur could simply enjoy being in the company of good friends and pretend that his life wasn’t the mess it was. 

“So, Mithian, I’ve seen your work before. You’re good. Why leave all the bright lights for boring, old Camelot?” They were gathered in Guinevere’s tiny living room, digging into ice cream that Arthur had the foresight to bring. 

“Camelot has a charm of its own. Plus where else better to start a new career as a nature photographer?”

“Ah, well then, good thing you know Merlin.” Gwaine slapped Merlin’s back with a huge thump. “His idea of a good time is to walk around all the so-called nature sights in Camelot. I’m sure he can show you some great places.”

Mithian’s smile was tight and she nodded, making Arthur wonder if Mithian didn’t like Merlin for some reason. Before he could think more of it, Mithian took his hand again and squeezed it. He slipped his fingers through hers and smiled warmly at her.

Eventually, the party had to break up. Guinevere stood at the door, cheerily waving them off. Gwaine whispered something in her ear and she laughed as pink stained her cheeks. Curiosity over what Gwaine whispered to her to make her laugh like that gripped him but he knew it was completely inappropriate to ask at this moment. Mithian slipped her arm through his and he turned his thoughts to her instead. 

“I’ll send you home?”

“I’d love that,” Mithian replied. She turned back and he followed her gaze and watched as Merlin and Gwaine lingered at the door, chatting with a smiling Guinevere. Something dark churned in him but when Mithian’s eyes turned back to him, he ignored it. “Perhaps you’ll come in for some coffee?”

He should have, but for some reason, at her door, after he kissed her, he begged off coffee, claiming he was exhausted after all that cooking. As he drove back, he wondered if Gwaine was still at Guinevere’s place and what she’d told Mithian that resulted in her sudden change in attitude towards him.

+

The weekend went by in a flash, much to Arthur’s regret, especially when he arrived in the office on Monday morning to find a sullen Mordred waiting for him. Guinevere shot him a look of sympathy and pressed a mug of coffee into his hand. He smiled thankfully, then ushered Mordred into his office.

“Well?” Mordred threw his bag onto the sofa and flopped onto it.

Guinevere’s concern about Mordred echoed in his brain. “How have you been?”

“What does that matter? Just tell me how the case is progressing.”

“It matters because I care. Have you been going to school? How is your dad?”

Mordred scowled. “You know how my dad is. That assistant of yours called every now and then to check on him. And yeah, I’m back in school.”

“Good. Anything you need?”

“I need you to actually do something about this case!”

“Alright, look, I know you are itching for me to confront Mercia Constructions but nothing good is going to come out of rushing it.”

“There’s slow and there’s doing nothing. And frankly, I think you’re doing nothing. Morgana said -”

Arthur slammed the folder in his hands down onto his desk. “I told you not to talk to Morgana!”

“You’re not my father and you’re not my boss. I can talk to whoever I want!”

“She has an agenda and that agenda isn’t helping you. Let me deal with her -”

Mordred snorted. “Deal with her? She said she’s been avoiding you because you’re a wuss and she doesn’t think that you’d have the guts to make proper use of the evidence she has.”

Arthur bit his lip as anger bubbled in him. Coldly, he said, “I’m telling you again. Don’t listen to Morgana.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“Mordred -”

He grabbed his bag. “I suggest you move faster on my case.” Then before Arthur could say anything, he stalked out of his office, slamming the door in his wake.

Arthur picked up his phone. “Guinevere? Get Merlin and come into my office. Both of you.”

After he relayed the meeting with Mordred, Merlin simply sighed while Guinevere furrowed her brows in concern. “What are you planning now?” she asked.

“I think it’s about time we sat down with Mercia Construction. I want you to speak with Gili again and see if he’s willing to give us a statement. He doesn’t have to testify, not yet anyway. We can keep him anonymous for now. And Guinevere, I need you to call Morgana or Morgause again and see if you can persuade them to meet with us.”

Nodding, Merlin left his office while Guinevere lingered.

“Is something wrong?”

“I just wanted see if you were alright.” She peered at him. “Are you?”

“Yeah. I was being cautious with the case, worried that if it fell through, I’d look bad and Mordred would lose a chance of getting justice. I guess that approach didn’t work. I just feel like I’m floundering here and you probably find it hard to believe but it’s not a feeling I’m used to. I just don’t want to let Mordred down. Life has let him down enough already.”

Somehow, she’d moved closer to him and she placed a hand on his arm. “It’ll work out. I know it will. I believe in you.”

Arthur looked at her, at her earnest eyes, at the stray curl that fell across her forehead and at the slightly parted lips. She believed in him. How many people had ever said that to him before? Without thinking, he lifted a hand and rubbed his thumb across her smooth cheek. She blinked in response, then swallowed.

He kissed her. 

Not on the cheek like he did on occasion. 

Not like a friend would.

He kissed her full on the lips, tasting the sweetness she offered and revelling in the feel of her. His mind emptied of everything except for Guinevere and how perfectly she fitted under his lips.

+

For the last few hours, Gwen had done little except stare blankly at her screen. Sure, she made the phone calls she needed to make, ushered in clients who had appointments and put phone calls through to Arthur but she did them all automatically, without thinking. All that was in her mind was the kiss she shared with Arthur. She should have pulled away the moment his lips touched hers but she hadn’t. She hadn’t even protested. Instead, she’d closed her eyes and sighed against him, enjoying the feel of his lips moving against hers. 

They broke apart eventually and immediately regret and embarrassment swept through her. Avoiding eye contact, she broke out of his hold and moved to the door. 

“Guinevere -”

“That was a mistake.”

“A mistake,” he had repeated, and she could feel his eyes on her. She continued staring at the ground.

“A mistake. You are under a lot of stress - we are under a lot of stress and sometimes that results in bad decisions.” She gulped and pressed on when he didn’t say anything. “I mean we both know it didn’t mean anything.”

She heard him move, probably to his desk. “Of course.”

“We should forget it happened.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to go to my desk now.”

“Of course. Guinevere -”

Her hand on the doorknob, she stopped.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

So he was regretting it already. “It’s forgotten,” she said, thankful her voice came out calmly. She looked back at him and smiled insincerely. His returning smile was just as strained. Quickly, she left his office, her heart pounding and the memory of his warm lips still playing in her mind.

She was still replaying the kiss in her mind when Merlin popped by. “Hey, lunch?”

Grateful for the distraction, she agreed easily. 

The cafe was crowded as usual but they soon found a nice corner table to sit at. For a while, she simply let Merlin’s general chatter wash over her until he stopped. 

“Ok, something is wrong today. You want to talk about it?”

“I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.” 

A teasing grin broke on Merlin’s face. “Gwaine? He seemed quite taken with you.”

Gwaine. He had been very charming and a whole lot of fun. On the spur of the moment, she’d agreed to meet up with him for tea on Sunday and she had to admit that it had been very enjoyable. “He was a lot of fun.”

“Hmm,” said Merlin meaningfully. “Everyone is getting hooked up around me. It almost makes me feel lonely.”

It was her first genuine laugh in hours. “I just met up with Gwaine. It’s nothing serious.”

“But it could become serious, couldn’t it?”

Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?” Gwaine didn’t strike her as the the long term commitment type but maybe, he would be just the guy to distract her from her feelings for Arthur. “You know what? I’m going to call him right now and see if he wants to have dinner with me tonight.”

Merlin’s eyebrows shot up but all he did was grin and give her the thumbs up.

+

As expected, dinner with Gwaine was both enjoyable and relaxing and for a good few hours, she didn’t think of Arthur or that kiss. 

“How about a walk along the river?” Gwaine asked as he helped her with her coat.

“Sure.”

The night was cool and the moon hung low in the sky. They weren’t the only couple strolling along the river. As they walked, Gwaine took her hand and tugged her closer to him. The warmth of his body enveloped her and Gwen had to admit that she enjoyed the comfort it provided. Surely it wouldn’t be difficult to fall in love with him. They chatted easily about random events in Camelot, never delving into anything too heavy or personal. 

Eventually, they were at her apartment. Gwaine smiled down at her. “I had a lovely time, Gwen. You’re quite a wonderful person.”

“I had a great time too.” Determined to forget Arthur and that kiss which kept popping into her head at the most inopportune moments, she widened her smile. “Would you like to come in?”

She must have read him wrongly because he hesitated. Gwen was about to take back her invite when Gwaine cupped her face gently his thumb caressing her cheek. “Under other circumstances, I would have said yes easily. But you Gwen, are not the one night stand type and I happen to know there’s someone else in your heart.”

“What -”

“I saw the way you kept looking at Arthur that day during the cooking competition.”

She forced a laugh, hoping that in the dim light, he couldn’t see the blush on her cheek. “You’re mistaken. I -”

“I don’t think so. But, you know, it doesn’t mean we can’t go out and have fun together. And it doesn’t mean I won’t kiss you. After all, you are single now right?” 

She nodded, unsure of what to say.

“And you wouldn’t say no to a kiss?”

“No,” she whispered, then leaned towards him. Gwaine kissed her.

It was pleasant and it was obvious that Gwaine was skilled but it wasn’t the toe-curling, heart pounding kiss that Arthur had given her. 

“Good night Gwen.” He pressed another kiss to her cheek then disappeared down the corridor. 

As she closed the door, Gwen smiled, her fingers touching her cheek. It was nice being desired by someone like Gwaine. Fun. She could do fun and maybe while she was having fun, she’ll stop being in love with Arthur.

+

The atmosphere crackled with tension. Mercia Construction’s lawyers sat at one end of the table while Arthur, Merlin and her sat at the other. It was a high stakes meeting and Gwen could see the lines on Arthur’s face. Merlin looked less tense but Gwen knew better. The past few nights, the three of them had stayed up till late in the office, working through how they would approach this meeting. In between, they ate takeaway and Arthur tried to deal with Mordred’s increasing unhappiness. On and off, Mithian would drop by with food for all of them and Gwen would try to ignore the affectionate look and touches between her and Arthur. Usually, she’d call Gwaine up and he’d pick her up and bring her out, laughing and teasing her till her mood improved.

“Rumour has it that you’re working with your estranged sister,” one of the lawyers said grimly. 

Drumming his fingers on the table, Arthur shook his head. “You know what people are like. Rumours can spring out of nothing.”

“Be that as it may, we know of Ms Pendragon’s -”

“Ms LeFay. Morgana will kill you if you refer to her as Ms Pendragon.” Gwen watched as Arthur smiled easily, acting as if he hadn’t a care in the world when she knew it was exact opposite.

“Ms LeFay’s interest in our company. Of course, she has it all wrong but we really rather she stop poking around in our affairs.”

“If you think I have any control over Morgana, you clearly haven’t done your research.” Arthur smiled again. “Shall we get down to business then?”

Throughout the meeting, Arthur maintained the calm and confident facade with Merlin furiously taking down notes, contributing only a little now and then. 

“We are willing to give Cerden a nice sum of money. The accident isn’t our fault but we do feel sorry for his bad luck and we are a generous company.”

Arthur laughed. “But I suppose you won’t admit your guilt.”

“As I said, it wasn’t our fault. He was unlucky. A lawsuit would do neither party any good and you know that.”

The discussion, amiable on the surface, continued for a long time with neither side willing to give up any ground. By the time the lawyers from Mercia Constructions stood and shook their hands, Gwen was exhausted and deflated. Things didn’t look good for them at all.

“Well,” Arthur said, tiredness in his voice, “that went well.”

Merlin merely shook his head. “I’ll concede that they are worried but once they work out that we’re bluffing about working with Morgana, about having evidence, whatever upper hand we have is going to disappear. We need to take the deal.”

“You’re probably right. But we can’t do any deals without Mordred’s agreement and you know what he wants.” Arthur sighed. “I need a break from this. How about some lunch?”

“Can’t,” muttered Merlin. “I promised my mom I’d go look at her sink once this meeting was over.”

“Guinevere?”

She should say no. Really. But she didn’t.

+

There was something about Guinevere, Arthur realised as they walked down to their usual cafe. Being with her, he felt as if he didn’t have to put on an act, he could be himself. And no matter what was weighing down on his shoulders, when he was with Guinevere, they never seemed as heavy.

“Oh look!” Guinevere said suddenly, “Gwaine is here!”

His immediate reaction was one of annoyance, which didn’t make any sense at all. It must be the stress from the meeting.

“Guinevere!” Gwaine rose from his seat and kissed her lightly. “Arthur. Gwen mentioned the meeting so I thought I’d pop by and see how things went, give Gwen some support.” He smiled warmly at Gwen, who smiled back at him. 

“Don’t you have to work?” Arthur was well aware that he sounded pissy but he didn’t care. He’d expected to spend a nice half hour with Guinevere, not have to share her with Gwaine. 

Gwaine merely grinned at Arthur. “Perks of running your own gym. Still, thanks for worrying about my gym Arthur. You’re a good friend.”

“Thanks for coming by.” Arthur said with all the sincerity he could muster as Guinevere took Gwaine’s hand, then settled down in the seat next to him. 

“How about we get some lunch then?” asked Gwaine. “I’m buying.”

Leaving Guinevere at the table, Arthur walked with Gwaine to the counter. “How’s the case going?”

“Not so great.”

“You should come by, punch some bags to relieve your stress.” Flashing his signature smile at the young lady behind the counter, Gwaine placed his order before turning back to Arthur. 

“I should. It feels like ages since I’ve been by.” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. “Frankly, a massage would be better.”

“You should ask your girlfriend - Mithian was it? - to give you one.”

“Is that what Guinevere is to you?”

Gwaine simply shrugged. “We’ve only been seeing each other for a week. Who knows what will transpire?”

“Don’t hurt her,” Arthur felt compelled to say. 

“I think we’re both quite clear on how we stand. I enjoy her company and she enjoys mine. And frankly, I don’t think she’ll appreciate your interference.” Gwaine softened his words with a smile. Arthur bit back his retort. “Anyway, you coming to play football this Saturday? You’ve missed several weeks already and we miss you.”

Arthur chuckled as he grabbed the tray of food that finally arrived. “Miss winning?”

“Oh please. We don’t need you to win,” Gwaine said.

“I’ve heard differently.” He smirked at Gwaine who shook his head good naturedly. 

Despite, Gwaine’s intrusion, lunch was nice enough and by the time it was over, Arthur felt more relaxed and more positive. Outside the cafe, Arthur watched as Gwaine and Guinevere kissed goodbye, stubbornly ignoring the strange feeling that had taken up residence in his stomach since he walked into the cafe. He should be happy, he told himself firmly. Guinevere was smiling, laughing like he wanted. He turned away.

“I’m going back first,” he yelled at them but aside from a quick nod from Guinevere, they ignored him, far too engrossed in each other. It was rude, he told himself, explaining the annoyance that had been haunting him the whole day. In the lift, he pulled out his phone and called Mithian.

+

Mithian excused herself from the table, smiling as she stood up. Arthur returned the smile. For all intents and purposes, his relationship with Mithian was going well. They went out regularly and he enjoyed her company. She seemed to enjoy his too. In fact, most dates were pleasant, lovely. Mithian, as he’d known from the very beginning, was everything one could want in a partner - she was gorgeous, smart and kind. So why did he feel so out of sorts and why was it every time he closed his eyes, the kiss he shared with Guinevere would enter his mind? 

“Penny for your thoughts,” said Mithian as she returned to the table. “Still worrying about your cases?”

“Yeah,” he lied easily. “Sorry.”

Mithian placed her hand over his. “I think it’s great that you are so dedicated to your work. I admire that.”

“Sometimes I wish that I could do more.” This time, his thoughts drifted to Mordred. Mercia Constructions had offered a deal but refused to admit any fault, something that Arthur knew Mordred would insist be part of the deal. “Some days, I wish I could do something to prevent such things from happening, instead of just reacting to such things.”

“Don’t we all?” Mithian replied. “Are you free this weekend? I’m hoping to take a walk in Gedref, take some photos. The local tour magazine is willing to pay for some photographs.”

“That’s brilliant. You know, we should invite Merlin. He knows Gedref like the back of his hand.” Arthur immediately noticed Mithian tense. “You don’t like Merlin?”

Immediately, she shook her head. “Oh no. Merlin is great. I mean, he’s nice and -” Her face reddened and a strange thought popped into Arthur’s head but he shook it off. He and Mithian were perfect for each other. Even his father had said so. It was the first time his father had shown approval of his choices. 

“We could invite Guinevere too,” he suggested. 

Mithian brightened. “We could have a picnic. It’ll be great!”

It would be, Arthur thought. And suddenly, for the first time, he was looking forward to spending time in the outdoors.

Mithian’s hands lingered on his chest as they stood outside her door. Threading his fingers through her hair, Arthur tugged her closer and deepened the kiss. As she usually did, she invited him in. And as he did everytime, he declined. Perhaps if Mithian looked disappointed, he might wonder more about why he never took her up on her offer. But she never showed any sign of disappointment and they never did anything more than kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to E for the beta. And thank you to all of you who left comments and/or kudos. They are much appreciated. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to E for the beta. Any issues should be blamed on me.

Gwen knew the moment Arthur arrived at work with Merlin that once again, it wasn’t going to be an easy day ahead. Tension lined his face and he didn’t greet her on his way to his office. Merlin walked in behind him, looked at her and shook his head before disappearing into the office with Arthur.

Worried, she pulled out some files she had been working on and tried to concentrate. Instead, Arthur’s tired eyes and tight mouth kept floating into her head and she worried even more. He’d been this way the past week, so much so that Mithian had asked her one evening during their regular dinner-cum-shopping dates if something was up at work. The truth was Gwen suspected it had something to do with the Mordred case and his father but if Arthur hadn’t told Mithian about it, then she didn’t think it was her place to either. So she’d mumbled something about Arthur working too hard, then turned the subject to how bloody difficult it was to find a decent contractor to do up her house. 

“What’s going on?” Gwen grabbed Merlin’s arm and whispered when he finally left Arthur’s office.

“Aside from Arthur having some sort of crisis of confidence, nothing much.”

“Aren’t you concerned?”

Merlin snorted lightly, glancing back at Arthur’s closed door. “Of course I am. But when Arthur is in a mood, he’s a stubborn ass. And any conversation we have about this only results in him insulting me and throwing me all sorts of busy work to do. Which is what I’m headed out to do right now. I’m going to have to take a raincheck on lunch.”

“Ok,” Gwen said slowly. Her eyes went back to Arthur’s door, wondering if she would be overstepping boundaries if she went in to check on Arthur. Then she remembered what happened the last time she did that. Tearing her eyes away, she focussed on the file in front of her.

A few minutes later, her concentration was broken when the phone at her desk rang. It was Arthur, demanding Merlin come into his office. Only Merlin wasn’t around. She heard him curse quietly, then slam the phone down. Worry for him overrode her concerns and she knocked on his door.

“Come!”

Peering in, she saw he was standing, which meant he’d been pacing again. “Is everything alright?”

“Guinevere!” He spun around and he almost smiled. “Everything is fine.”

She sucked in a breath and stepped into his office. “No it’s not. Look at you. You look like you haven’t slept in ages, you’re constantly angry with Merlin and -”

“Merlin is a pain on his best days.”

“Arthur -”

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. Things have been hectic recently. We met with Mordred yesterday and he didn’t want the deal. Let’s just say he took it badly that we even dared offer him such a deal. And there’s my dad. Frankly, at this point, my relationship with Mithian is the only thing that is going well in my life at the moment.”

Gwen’s ignored the instinctual jealousy that bubbled in her. It was getting easier with practice. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Actually, I would rather not think about it at all.”

“Well then, if you have nothing urgent - and there’s no terribly important appointments in your schedule today I can’t postpone - how about we play hooky today?” 

His smile completely transformed his face and made her heart jump and pleasure flood her when she realised he liked her suggestion. “Why, Guinevere. Are you actually suggesting to your boss that we take a day off work for no reason?”

“I’ve learnt that the occasional break is always for the best. A very smart man taught me that.” 

“Hmm, a very smart man indeed.” Arthur grabbed his jacket. “Let’s go.”

They ended up in a small park not too far away, eating sandwiches they procured from a nearby kiosk. A group of children kicked around a ball in front of them, their laughter carefree.

“Sometimes I wonder if I am even in the right job,” sighed Arthur, seated so close to her she could feel the warmth of his body. “My father was so set on me following his footsteps and taking over his firm.”

Gwen tilted her head back, letting the sun shine down on her face. “If you could be anything in the world, what would you want to be?”

“A farmer.”

Both the ridiculousness of his answer and the utter seriousness in which he said it caused her to burst into laughter. He joined in. “I can’t imagine you being a farmer. Merlin tells me you can’t stand the outdoors.”

“I admit I don’t like the outdoors much. I mean, tamed, managed nature, like this very pretty park, is fine but all that rugged, untamed outdoors just isn’t quite my thing.” He shook his head. “But nowadays, farmers are more high tech right? Anyway, I’ll just bring Merlin with me. He’ll revel in it and can do all the work.”

“I’m sure you will.”

They lapsed into silence and Gwen closed her eyes. Could life get any better than this? To think 3 months ago, she had been adamant that she would not be staying forever in Camelot. With children’s laughter surrounding her, with the smell of hotdogs in the air, with the warmth of Arthur next to her, the urge to run away from Camelot was little more than a dull throb, not the overwhelming feeling it once used to be. When she first returned, she’d seen her past everywhere she turned, from the furniture in her home to the familiar buildings that still remained. But now, while she still remembered the past, the easy acceptance of everyone, the new friends she’d made and the fact that even her brother had made peace with his past made her rethink a lot of things. 

“Ow!” Arthur leapt from the bench, startling her from her thoughts. Opening her eyes, she saw a sheepish girl approaching them. Then she noticed the ball Arthur was holding.

“I’m sorry! Can we have our ball back?”

“Only if I get to play too.”

When the girl scowled at him, then petulantly declared, “You’re old!”, Gwen tried very hard to stifle her giggle. Not successfully she realised when Arthur shot her a glare.

“Give me my ball or I’ll tell my mother.” 

“You’d better give her the ball,” Gwen said, smiling as Arthur scowled back at the girl before thrusting the ball into her arms. “Not very good with children are you?”

“I’m great with kids.”

Sighing, Gwen stood. “We should probably be heading back. Lunch time is over and Merlin is going to start complaining about us again.”

“You’re right.” Arthur stood as well. “This was nice. Thank you.”

“No worries. I enjoyed myself too.” 

As expected, a disgruntled Merlin hovered at her desk when they returned.

“You know, when the two of you go on your secret rendezvous, you could at least leave me a note,” he said. “Morgana called. She wants to meet up with you and Mordred.”

And with those words, the tension returned to Arthur’s face. A curt nod, he beckoned Merlin into his office and Gwen was left alone again.

\+ 

Gwen sipped the coffee, then made a face. 

“No good?” Mithian asked, the amusement in her voice evident. “I admire your sense of adventure when it comes to coffee.” 

“Ugh. And the picture looked so great too.”

Pushing her tea over, Mithian laughed. “Here, have some of mine. You must be thirsty after quarrelling with that awful man.”

“I’m still too angry to be thirsty. How dare he suggest that I am incapable of making decisions over my bathroom fittings.”

Mithian rolled her eyes. “I know. Men. I can’t believe he told you to come back with your husband.”

“I should bring Merlin with me the next time. He’s even more indecisive than me.” Gwen took a gulp of Mithian’s tea, then cringed inwardly. There was a reason she didn’t drink tea usually. “So tell me about that exciting piece of news you have.”

“The local travel magazine -”

“Long Live Camelot?”

“Cheesy right?” laughed Mithian, “still, I’ll take what I can get. They’ve asked me to shoot some photos of Gedref for an upcoming article.”

Excited, Gwen reached across the table and grabbed Mithian’s hand. “No!”

“Yes!”

“That’s brilliant!”

“I know! I was so used to being in demand as a fashion photographer, I forgot what it is like to have to work from the bottom up. But I also forgot how exciting it is.”

“I cannot imagine ever being sick of being a fashion photographer. All that glitz and glamour. I can tell you there’s little glitz and glamour in IT management.” 

“Glitz and glamour gets old fast. And it sometimes makes you someone you don’t want to be.” Mithian smiled, the happiness evident in her eyes. “I’m happy here. Mostly.”

That little bit of jealousy that was always there when she met Mithian raised its ugly head. “Yeah, your job is picking up and there’s Arthur, who’s besotted with you.” Guilt hit her and Gwen quickly put on a smile. “I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah, about Arthur. Can I ask you something?”

Gwen really rather Mithian not ask her anything about Arthur but she nodded. 

Mithian ran her fingers along the side of the table as if gathering her thoughts. “You’ve been in love before right?” When Gwen nodded again, she continued. “The thing is Arthur is lovely. He’s sweet and he does all the right things. He brings me out to dinner, we make small talk. He takes me to the movies but it’s like we’re just going through the motions.”

“What do you mean?” Gwen sat up, frowning. While she was jealous of Mithian’s relationship with Arthur, that didn’t mean she wanted them to break up.

“He doesn’t tell me about the things that happen at work for one thing. But more importantly, he seems happy to just keep things as they are. We’ve been going out for over a month and all we’ve ever done is kiss.”

Images Gwen didn’t want floated into her mind. “Maybe he is waiting for you to make the first move?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t want things to progress either.” Mithian smiled wryly. “I feel like I should want more but I don’t. There’s just no spark.”

The kiss she shared with Arthur immediately popped into Gwen’s head. That was the complete opposite of no spark. “No spark?”

Mithian shook her head. “None. I mean it’s pleasant but it’s not like how I feel about - uh”

Gwen perked up, leaning towards Mithian. “You have feelings for someone else? Someone who isn’t Arthur?”

Her head dropped and the salt shaker suddenly seemed very fascinating to Mithian. 

“You don’t have to tell me who it is,” said Gwen quietly. “What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Mithian sighed. “To many people, Arthur and I probably seem like the perfect couple. And you know, I think I could be happy with him. I just thought there would be more -”

“More?”

“That it would just be more.” Mithian shrugged. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping all this on you.”

“What are friends for, if not discussing difficult life decisions like whether I should go back to that awful man to buy my bathroom fittings.”

“Don’t. His stuff may be cheap but he’s an ass.”

“You’re right.”

+

“Wow, this is gorgeous,” breathed Guinevere as they spilled out of his car.

Merlin grinned. “It’s just the beginning -”

“-of torture,” groaned Arthur. He was already regretting this whole outing. First, since no one else had a car large enough for all of them, he’d had to drive his car through muddy, uneven roads. He was loathed to see the state of his car right now. Then Gwen had invited Gwaine along. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Gwaine - he did. It was just that Gwaine spent the whole time fussing over Gwen and it annoyed him. And it annoyed him that he didn’t understand why it annoyed him.

Mithian slipped her arm in his and he pasted a smile on his face. From the corner of his eye, he could see Gwen and Gwaine snuggled together and Gwaine whispering something in her ear that made her laugh. Merlin had gone on ahead and was waxing lyrical about the view, to whom, Arthur had no idea. Everyone looked relaxed and happy. Arthur sighed. He didn’t want to be the lone unhappy person.

“Isn’t this nice?” he said to no one in particular.

“It’s perfect,” murmured Mithian. She disentangled herself from him and went over to the boot of his car, grabbing her camera and other assorted equipment. 

Soon, they were trekking in a valley and somehow Arthur ended up at the back of the group. He watched with growing resentment as Guinevere walked hand in hand with Gwaine, laughing and teasing each other. He felt excluded from their little bubble of happiness. His own girlfriend chatted animatedly with Merlin as they pointed at various things. From his vantage point, he watched Mithian. Her smile was bright and he could hear the enthusiasm in her voice. A sense of discomfort settled in his stomach but he pushed it away. 

“Come on slow poke,” Merlin shouted from the front, turning back to wave at Arthur.

Arthur rolled his eyes and refused to walk any faster. Hell would freeze over before he listened to Merlin, he thought sulkily.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they stopped at a clearing. To Arthur, it looked like every other clearing they passed but to Merlin and Mithian, it was apparently the clearing to beat all clearings if their oohing and ahhing over the place was any indication. Amused, he turned to look for Guinevere. She would find it as amusing, he knew. Then, he saw Gwaine with his arm slung around Guinevere and still whispering into the ear.

“It’s not that bad right?” Mithian was suddenly at his side, her fingers twining with his. “Look at how gorgeous the mountain range in the distance is, and the flora.”

He let her rattle on, smiling and nodding at what he thought were appropriate places. His eyes glanced at Mithian then moved back to Guinevere and he watched as her and Gwaine settle down on the grass, still plastered closely to each other. 

By then, Merlin had joined them and Mithian, although her hand was in his, her attention was solely on Merlin. Her eyes danced, excitement coloured her voice and she seemed more alive than he’d ever seen her. And it was all because of Merlin. 

Everything was wrong.

Arthur dropped Mithian’s hand. She didn’t even blink twice, instead, moving closer to Merlin so she could look at the plant he was pointing at. When Mithian giggled at something Merlin said, Arthur walked away, not unaware that Mithian probably didn’t realise he had gone. 

“I’d suggest we kick a ball around but Merlin and Mithian might object to us destroying nature,” Arthur lifted the arm from across his face and blinked. Gwaine hovered over him for a while, shoving a can of coke at him. “Don’t mind if we join you. Gwen thought you looked lonely.”

“Mithian looks so at home taking photographs,” said Guinevere as she sat down next to him. Gwaine immediately plopped down beside her. “I bet her photographs are going to be stunning.”

Arthur grunted, letting his arm fall back down to cover his eyes. 

Someone nudged him. Then he caught the unmistakable smell of Guinevere’s perfume. She was leaning over him. He opened his eyes again and stared at her. After a moment, she jerked back, then burrowed into Gwaine’s chest. 

“Come on. Mithian isn’t going to be happy when she sees you sulking like this.”

“She’s fine. Merlin is keeping her company.”

“You should be with them, taking an interest in her work.” Arthur could hear the disapproval in Guinevere’s voice. “How do you expect to maintain a relationship behaving like that?”

Gwaine chuckled. “She’s right of course. If you love Mithian, then you should be there, getting involved in the things she likes.”

“Like I’m going to take advice from the perennial bachelor,” muttered Arthur.

“Hey, I’m a bachelor by choice. And I’m not quite a bachelor now. I’ve the best woman by my side.”

Arthur couldn’t help the scowl that formed when he heard Guinevere giggle. “Look, why don’t the two of you take your romantic selves and go cuddle somewhere else?”

Gwaine laughed. “Come on Arthur. Don’t be such a baby.”

“It’s a lovely day and we don’t get to spend time together so often,” Guinevere said, her tone eliciting feelings of guilt.

“You’re right,” he said, pushing himself up. “Now how about we tuck into the food while the two nature lovers are busy?”

By the time Mithian and Merlin wandered back to where the three of them were, the best sandwiches had been eaten and they were lying on the grass, making up nonsense stories based on the shape of clouds. Whatever misgivings Arthur had earlier had completely disappeared and he laughed heartily at Gwaine’s story of a bear and a squirrel. He felt Guinevere laugh beside him and turned his head so he could see her face, watch her laugh. Their eyes met, his heart swelled and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. 

“I can’t believe you ate all the good ones!” Merlin sat down besides Arthur as he rummaged through the bag. “Ugh. Now I have to eat the ones with alfalfa sprouts.”

Pulling his attention away from Guinevere, he laughed at Merlin's disgusted face. "The early bird catches the worm. And you should have volunteered to make the sandwiches if you're going to be so fussy."

"You know I don't like alfalfa sprouts!" Merlin grumbled.

“Alfalfa sprouts are good for you,” said Mithian as she settled down as well. 

Guinevere sat up. “Lucky for you, I made you your favourite peanut butter sandwich. And I kept it away from these two ravenous animals."

"Hey!" grunted Arthur and Gwaine in unison.

Ignoring them, Guinevere turned to Mithian. "How was the shoot?”

“Great. Merlin has quite the eye for nature." Arthur watched Merlin and Mithian exchange a smile. "I think we got a few good pictures.”

“That’s good. I’m sure Long Live Camelot would be glad they commissioned you,” said Arthur. Then feeling slightly bad at his lack of enthusiasm, he sat up and took Mithian’s hand. “You’re a brilliant photographer.”

The guilt only increased when Mithian squeezed his hand and beamed back at him. “And thank you for arranging this whole thing with everyone.” She kissed him lightly. “It’s been a wonderful day.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Guinevere watching them. The smile she flashed him was slight, then she turned back to Gwaine. With Mithian busy with the sandwiches, he continued to watch Guinevere. 

+

After dropping everyone off at their respective homes, Arthur drove Mithian back in silence.

“I had a great time. Thanks again for arranging it all.” She smiled briefly. “Would you like to come in?”

Arthur thought about the day he had, about the strange mix of feelings that had churned in him and looked at Mithian. “Sure.”

It was awkward.

He didn’t know if he should stand or sit. Mithian seemed equally as uncertain, fussing with the curtains then the magazines on her sofa.

“I’m sorry it’s such a mess.”

Reaching out an arm, he stopped her. “It’s fine. Come here.”

He tried. He pushed the doubts that clamoured in his mind, demanding release, aside. He thought of all the many virtues of Mithian. He thought of how pleased his father had been. He tried very hard to focus on the very beautiful woman in his arms, kissing him.

Gently, Mithian pulled away from him. “Arthur -”

“We should talk,” he said finally. She nodded and led him to her plush sofa. “The truth is, I like you a lot, Mithian but -”

“- you’re not in love with me?” The anxiety that had been building in him eased when he noted that she didn’t seem very upset.

“I’m sorry. I really thought that we could work this out but I think that it’s not fair to either of us to continue like this.”

While he was relieved that she hadn’t burst into tears, Arthur wasn’t quite prepared for the smile that bloomed on her face. “I’m glad you feel that way,” she said, then she laughed. “You are rich, attractive, smart - everything I could ask for so when Gwen started to encourage me to give you a chance, I thought why not?”

“Wait. You’re not upset.”

“Are you?” Amusement danced in her eyes as she smiled at him.

“I am now. I thought you liked me!” Arthur huffed, crossing his arms and staring petulantly at her.

“I do. Arthur, you’re a great guy but let’s face it, there was never any spark between us.”

And as much as his ego bruised at those words, he agreed. “Strange isn’t it? On paper, we’re perfect for each other. Well, at least I thought so.”

Her hand rubbed his. “I thought we would work too. We tried.”

“So, what now?”

“I guess we agree to remain friends?”

Arthur nodded. “Of course. Friends.”

“Good friends,” she smiled.

Impulsively, Arthur pulled her into a hug. He felt as if something heavy lifted from his chest. This was probably the best break up he’d ever had.

“You’ll let me tell people I dumped you right?” Mithian murmured into his ear.

+

Arthur whistled happily as he stood in the lift. A surprise phone call from Morgana the night before and the fact that he was no longer trying to pretend that his relationship with Mithian was actually going anywhere had lifted his spirits. When the lift doors opened to reveal Guinevere deep in concentration at her desk, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed, his mood got even better.

“Do you think you’ll want this job forever?”

“I think I’m overqualified for this job actually.” 

He leaned against her desk. “Mmm, but I pay well.”

“Your father hates me. You actually have a PA who is on leave and isn’t going to be happy when he finds himself a new father and jobless.” She looked pointedly at him, then shook her head when he responded with a grin. “Now I’ve all these things to do and your first appointment is going to be arriving soon.” 

“You run a tight ship Ms Thomas.”

He could feel Guinevere’s frown and he would bet his car that she would be calling Merlin soon to find out what transpired over the weekend. It only made him smile more. Humming to himself, he entered his office.

Over the morning, he cleared a number of straightforward cases, made a dent in the pile of paperwork he’d let pile up over the weeks.

“Gwen says you’re in an unbelievably good mood so I had to drop by and find out.” Merlin walked in unannounced and uninvited.

“Now you’re here, my good mood has plummeted.”

As usual, Merlin sank into the sofa. “Your wit is legendary. So, did something happen between you and Mithian then?”

Arthur nodded. “Maybe. Morgana called. Said she wants to meet up tomorrow afternoon with her evidence. Apparently she has a change of heart.”

“Huh.”

“What?” Arthur frowned at Merlin.

“I wouldn’t trust Morgana but hey, you never know. She might have turned over a new leaf.”

“Shut up Merlin.”

Turning his attention back to the file he was reading, Arthur was still well aware of Merlin lounging on his sofa, staring at him. 

Arthur slammed the folder shut. “Ok, what is it?

“Nothing. Gwen is right. You seem happier.”

“You can tell this from watching me read something.”

“I’ve known you for far too long,” Merlin sighed. “Come on, we’re supposed to be friends. Tell me.”

A thought crystallised in Arthur’s mind. “You and Guinevere are close.”

“Are we playing ‘state the obvious’ now? You are a lawyer.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “How serious do you think she and Gwaine are?”

“I think they enjoy each other’s company.” Merlin’s voice trailed off and he stared at Arthur. “Are you and Mithian no longer together?”

“No, we decided it wasn’t working.”

“And you’re asking about Gwen.” Merlin jumped from the sofa. “No.”

“What do you mean by no?”

“I mean I know you like her company - god knows the two of you run off from work at any whim - and she’s a great person but just because you’re nursing a broken heart doesn’t mean you run into the arms of someone convenient.”

“Do I look like I’m nursing a broken heart?”

“How would I know?” snapped Merlin.

“You just said you knew me too well!”

“Maybe I don’t! And don’t even think about it. I still remember Vivian.”

That was a low blow. Dating Vivian hadn’t been his best moment, using her to get over Sophia but he had been young, foolish and selfish. He liked to think that he’s mature over the years. “Vivian was different.”

“Gwen is happy with Gwaine,” stated Merlin. “She’s happy with this job. She hasn’t been happy in a while. Don’t. Please.”

“I like her,” his voice was pleading, as if he was hoping for Merlin to give his approval.

“You liked Mithian too.”

“It’s different,” Arthur said quietly. It had always been different. With Mithian he liked her mainly because he knew he ought to like her. But she wasn’t the one he wanted to play truant with, she wasn’t the one he wanted to share stories with and she wasn’t the one whose kiss haunted his dreams. 

“Maybe. Look, you just ended one relationship. Do you really think it’s a good idea to jump into another?”

Arthur sighed. “Why do you have to be so sensible?”

“Because you are a fool. Don’t look so crushed. Gwen is going to think that I bullied you.”

“Shut up.”

Merlin nudged him. “It’s past noon. Lunch?”

“Fine. Whatever.”

+

When Merlin gave her the news, she dropped the pan she was washing. 

“Arthur and Mithian have broken up?”

“Just two days ago,” said Merlin between bites. 

Gwen picked up the pan and continued scrubbing it, keenly aware of Gwaine’s eyes on her. No wonder Mithian had texted her yesterday but she’d been too busy with her brother and Percy to reply. Guilt flooded her. Mithian might have been completely shattered and she hadn’t been around. 

“What happened?” Gwaine asked the question she wanted asked.

“Apparently Mithian dumped him? At least that’s what Mithian told me,” said Merlin, “Arthur was very tight lipped.”

Gwen dropped the pan again and turned to look at Merlin. “You spoke to Mithian? Was she alright?”

“I think so. We went to watch that latest French movie last night and she seemed fine. Guess that is what happens when you’re the dumper.”

“And how is Arthur?” Gwaine was asking all the questions for her. She smiled at him.

Merlin shrugged. “None the worse for wear it seems. He’ll have another woman on his arm soon enough. Hey, you should come eat. We can do the washing up later.”

“Yeah. Come on Gwen. You’ve already cooked for us.The least we can do is wash up.” Gwaine leaned over the counter and snagged her hand, tugging it gently. 

Gwen obliged and sat next to Gwaine who had an inscrutable expression on his face. “How is the chicken?”

“Great as usual. She’s a brilliant cook,” Merlin said approvingly, turning to nod at Gwaine. 

“I know. She’s great.” Gwaine’s arm slid around her waist and he gave her a squeeze. There was a message in the squeeze, except Gwen’s mind was far too busy with the shock news of Mithian and Arthur’s break up to dwell on that. Her mind churning, she let Gwaine and Merlin lead the conversation down another path.

Later, after Merlin left, Gwaine and her sat in front of the television. A soap played on it but Gwen’s thoughts were elsewhere.

“A penny?”

“Huh, oh. I was just thinking about Mithian. I hope she’s alright.”

Gwaine shifted a little, tucking her into his embrace and kissed the top of her head. “Merlin said she was fine.”

“I know. But maybe she’s putting up a brave front for him?”

“This is what I like about you Gwen. You care.” Then he turned her to face him. “Arthur is single now.”

Ignoring the flutter of hope in her chest, she said blandly, “It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“Are you going to pretend to me that you don’t have feelings for him? Because you know I know.”

“It’s just a crush,” she muttered, pulling away from Gwaine and sinking into the sofa. “And there’s something wrong with my date asking me such questions.”

Gwaine laughed and pulled her back to lean against him. “I like you Gwen and we’ve had fun together but it’s never been anything serious. I’m pretty sure that how you feel about Arthur is a lot deeper.”

“What does it matter Gwaine? He doesn’t feel that way about me. And you’re right. I like this. I like being with you.”

“Just remember we’re not exclusive.”

Letting out a gasp of mock indignation, Gwen asked, “Are you trying to tell me you’ve been seeing someone else?”

“Well, I did go to dinner with Ling last week, remember? She was very interested in me. Sadly, she turned out to be not the most interesting conversationalist.” 

Laughing, Gwen took a cushion and hit Gwaine. He grabbed her and they ended up tangled together on the sofa. Gwaine cupped her face gently, then pressed a kiss against her lips. Against her ear, he whispered, “I don’t think Arthur is as immune to you as you think he is.” Then he got off the sofa. “Anyway, there’s a fitness convention next weekend in Caerleon and if I’m going to drive all the way there, I am thinking of staying a while, soak in the sights.”

“You are a lot sweeter than you look Gwaine Green,” said Gwen as she walked him to the door.

“Are you saying I don’t look sweet?”

Patting his cheek affectionately, she grinned. “No, but you are very attractive.”

+

Gwen wasn’t sure if Gwaine was trying to make her feel better or if he was simply mistaken because over the next week, Arthur definitely showed no interest in her. In fact, she had the strange suspicion that he was avoiding her. Work was busy as usual but not once did he offer to have lunch with her, something he did fairly regularly before and all of their conversations revolved around work. Any time it seemed like it was getting personal, Arthur would cut it short. 

After a long day at work, Gwen was all too glad to shrug out of her office wear. The hot shower splashed onto her bare skin and Gwen sighed in contentment, letting the warmth ease her tense muscles. The study was still in a mess and half of the tiles in her bedroom had been hacked up. But at least, her bathroom was still in good shape. Sometimes, when she looked at the mess her house was in, she’d wonder why she even let Merlin talk her into renovating it, especially when she was still planning to leave Camelot. Closing her eyes, Gwen let the water wash over her face. 

There was a knock on the door. 

She ignored it, unwilling to leave the comfort of her shower. She wasn’t expecting anybody and she wasn’t in the mood to make nice with any salespeople out there.

The knocking only got louder.

Gwen groaned but just turned off the shower and lathered herself instead.

“Guinevere? Are you at there? Please say you’re there.”

Her movements stilled. It was Arthur at her door and he sounded desperate. Immediately she panicked. Something must be wrong. As quickly as possible, she washed off the soap, grabbed her robe and made her way to the door.

“Arthur?” She flung open the door. Arthur stood there, tension evident on his face, his eyes bleak. “What happened? Come in. Is your father alright?”

His laugh was bitter but he entered her house anyway. “Turn on the TV.”

As he paced up and down, Gwen turned on the TV.

“Channel 3. The news should be on.”

“Ok.” A young reporter was talking about an accident that had happened earlier in the day. “Was someone you -”

“Look at the ticker tape.”

Gwen glanced down at the scrolling news.

_Young teen reveals Mercia Constructions shady practises_

She blinked and read it again as it scrolled past. “Mordred.”

“He called a press conference a few hours ago apparently and spilled everything about Mercia Constructions. Everything. Even things that have nothing to do with his case. I told him not to. I told him that nothing good will come from this. He doesn’t see that Morgana is using him for her own ends. He thinks she cares about him and his father.” Arthur stopped pacing, then sank onto her sofa and dropped his head into his hands. 

Gwen sat beside him. “Will this affect the case badly? The last time we met with Morgana, she gave you the evidence she had and the names of other who were willing to talk. Surely you can still bring Mercia Constructions to court.”

“It’s a mess. As you can imagine, Mercia who were willing to deal just last week, have left me a very curt note about how they will no longer enter into negotiations with us. And my father is furious that our name is linked with Mordred and Morgana’s unethical tactics. I just came from a long lecture. He wants me to drop the case. He’s threatening to fire me.”

“Are you going to?”

“I don’t know. Mordred is going to need us now that he’s made himself the center of a media circus but - I just don’t know.”

“Oh Arthur,” she sighed. Then, without thinking, she hugged him. She heard him murmur her name, then bury his face in her neck. For a long time, they just sat on the sofa, entwined. Then Arthur slowly pulled away, his eyes dark and locked on hers.

“You have soap on your face,” he said as he lifted one hand up to wipe it off. 

His touch was gentle and she shivered. She licked her lips. Arthur’s eyes dropped and he groaned before pulling her against him and kissing her. This time the kiss wasn’t as gently and sweet as the previous one they shared. There was an edge to it but Gwen gave herself up to Arthur’s kiss. His lips moved over hers and she parted her lips, allowing his tongue access. He nibbled her lower lip and a thrill shot through Gwen, sending heat pooling between her legs. 

When he moved from her lips to press kisses along her jaw then down to her neck, Gwen shuddered, her fingers threading into his hair. He pushed her back so she was lying on the sofa, then stretched himself over her. She welcomed his weight, slipping her arms around his waist. One hand smoothed up her leg, pushing her robe higher, while Arthur balanced on the other. His lips never left her body, leaving a trail from her neck down to between her breasts. With his nose, he nudged her robe aside, then took one nipple into his mouth. 

Gasping with pleasure, Gwen arched, giving him easier access. His tongue swept across her puckered nipple, then he suckled.

“Arthur,” she moaned, wanting more. Her hands left his hair and tugged at his shirt. With clumsy fingers, she undid his buttons, then grumbled when she couldn’t. She felt him chuckle against her breast before lifting his head up to smile at her. “You have too many clothes on.”

“So do you.” WIth those words, his hands went to untie her robe. Pushing her robe apart, Arthur stared down at her naked body. Gwen squirmed, suddenly self-conscious, resisting the urge to cover herself. He smoothed a hand down her body, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “You’re are perfect. So perfect.” His mouth followed the path his hand took, pressing kisses down her trembling stomach, along the inside of her thighs until he came to where she ached. He brushed along her slit with his knuckles and she squealed. 

Her whole body was on fire, demanding, needing. She whimpered when his thumb pressed against her clit. Just as she was about to complain, she felt his hot breath against her and then his tongue swept across her. Gwen sighed, content to play with his hair as he kissed, suckled and licked her. Desire built in her and with his fingers sliding in and out of her and him suckling her clit, she came, clutching at him and moaning in pleasure.

Moving up, he kissed her and she could taste herself. Desire hummed through her again. Desire mixed with a nagging feeling she shouldn't be doing this.

Unaware of her thoughts, he smiled at her. His voice was low and rough. “Let’s go to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for the comments and kudos and for reading. <3


	5. Chapter 5

Holding Guinevere in his arms, feeling her tremble under him was the best feeling in the world. Knowing he was the one who gave her pleasure only added to the general sense of bliss that surrounded him. Now she lay in front of him, her chest rising and falling, her eyes clouded with desire and Arthur smiled. He loved her, he realised. Not because she was the reason he was throbbing with need and want right now. Not because she was available and willing. But because with her at his side, he felt as if he could do anything, that life had a myriad of possibilities. Because when she was with him, there was always a bubble of happiness in him, even in the most dire of situations. And most importantly, because thinking of her not working for him, of her leaving Camelot left a dull ache in his heart.

Leaning over, he kissed her slowly before repeating his words. “Let’s go to bed.”

Her palms flattened on his chest and she pushed. Not the answer he expected but he moved away, slightly confused.

“We shouldn’t have done this.” She was pulling her robe tightly around her, shifting away from his as she did so. Her fingers frantically worked on the tie of her robe.

“Guinevere.” He moved to the other end of the sofa when she shook her head. Desire still coursed through his veins but he clenched his fists, willing himself to calm down. Somewhere between her gasping and trembling under his mouth and fingers and him kissing her, something had gone wrong. “Talk to me.”

“This was a mistake,” she said.

Frustration built in him. How was this a mistake? The past few minutes had been the best moments of his week. He reached out a hand to her and she recoiled as if he’d hurt her. Whatever desire he felt drained away, replaced by a vague sense of dread.

“You’re right,” he said as calmly as he could. “This is moving too fast.”

“You should leave.”

“Leave? Can we talk about this?” The dread in him increased at the look on her face.

She looked up at him. “I need you to leave. Please.”

He didn’t want to go. He wanted to thrash out whatever it was that was bothering her. But he wasn’t about to push her, not when she looked like she was about to shatter if he so much as touched her again.

She didn’t want him. She didn’t feel the same way about him the way he did about her. The thoughts echoed in his mind.

He’d been so caught up in his own feelings and wants, he’d completely ignored hers. Shame flooded him. Guinevere was right. He was selfish, always thinking about himself.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly as he stood. Then he walked out of her house, not once looking back despite desperately wanting to, afraid of what he would see.

+

The lift door slid open and the first thing he noticed was the empty desk. He laughed at himself. It never just rained, did it?

“Hey, Gwen took a sick day today.” Merlin was already in his office on his sofa, a stack of papers in his hands. “She didn’t sound so good. I’m going to go over after work. You want to come with me?”

“No. I’m going to be busy cleaning up Mordred’s mess.”

“So he’s still our client because I still remember your father yelling at you that it’s Mordred or your job here.”

Arthur shrugged. “I’ll deal with my father.”

“Right then. I dealt with the press already, told them we have no comment at the moment. Guess you better set up a meeting with Mordred.”

“Yeah.”

Merlin peered at him. “Are you alright?”

“No. Look, I just need to be alone.”

“Huh. Pity Gwen isn’t here. Then you two can go off and do whatever you do that cheers you up.”

Arthur ignored the pain that hearing her name caused. “I don’t pay you to hang around here talking nonsense.”

Shaking his head, Merlin left Arthur alone in the office. He tossed his jacket onto the sofa then sank into his chair. Last night had been awful. For hours, he’d lay in bed, going through all the things he’d done wrong. And when he finally dozed off, he’d been plagued with images of Guinevere, of her in the throes of pleasure under him, then her telling him she didn’t feel anything for him. Now, he was a wreck.

He had to focus. Quickly, he called Mordred, his irritation and anger fading a little when he heard how nervous and anxious Mordred sounded on the phone. Then, despite the urge to go over to Guinevere’s place, he pulled out some of his other outstanding work and worked through them. He and Guinevere needed to talk but he’d let her make the first move.

Before he could get anything done, his father summoned him.

“Have you told Mordred?” The moment he stepped into his father’s office, the words were barked at him.

“I arranged to meet him tomorrow.”

“And you’ll tell him that you can’t represent him anymore.”

“And I’ll see how things pan out,” said Arthur calmly.

His father walked up to him and Arthur resisted the urge to take a step back. “I meant what I said. Drop his case or lose your job. I’m tired of your impertinence. We are not some charity law firm. I said nothing when you take on pro-bono cases like this. But when our firm gets dragged through the mud and associated with that - that sister of yours and her activism, you need to stop.”

“Mordred isn’t lying about what Mercia did. You heard him. I’ve seen the evidence from Morgana. They need to be taken to task.”

Arthur could see the tension in his father’s jaw. “We are not some activist law firm,” his father bit out.

“And why not? There is a wrong done here and we should -”

“We are not in the business of justice!”

“If Mordred wants to retain me, I’m not going to turn him down. Do what you wish father.”

“Arthur,” his father’s voice softened. “You worked so hard to be a part of the firm, to prove you can take over when I go. Don’t waste it all over this boy. He is not worth it.”

Arthur opened his mouth but his father held up a hand.

“You’re emotional, not thinking straight. Think it over. You’ll realise I am right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Then his father went back to his chair and picked up some papers, effectively dismissing him.

Katherine smiled up at him but Arthur couldn’t muster the energy to even pretend to be civil. In the lift down to his office, Arthur fumed. When he stepped out of the lift and saw movement at Guinevere’s desk, his heart leapt. Then he realised it was just Merlin rummaging through her files.

“How did it go?”

“Badly. Come in.” Arthur stalked into the office. Rubbing his head, Arthur relayed what happened with his father to Merlin. When he finished, Merlin was perching on the sofa looking expectantly at him. “What?”

“That’s what I want to know. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Arthur, all the anger and the adrenalin that had kept him going drained out of him. He slumped onto the sofa next to Merlin, burying his head in his hands. “I really don’t know.”

“The way I see it,” said Merlin, “the easiest thing to do is to dump Mordred. Your father will be happy, you no longer have to worry about the mess Morgana made and life can continue as usual.”

“Is that what you think I should do?”

Merlin shrugged. “I like this job.”

Arthur raised his head to glare at Merlin. “You are not helping.”

“I think you should follow your heart.”

“You’re going to be fired after me, you know that right?”

Merlin smirked. “I do. But we’ll survive. I can play the violin. I’m sure you can sing.”

“I’ve heard you play before. Believe me that’s not playing. And no, I can’t sing.”

“People might pay for us to stop,” laughed Merlin. A reluctant smile tugged at Arthur’s lips and he shoved Merlin in response.

+

Gwen punched her pillow. It didn’t ease the tension in her, the tension she’d been carrying ever since she threw Arthur out of her house. Her sleep had been punctuated with erotic dreams involving her and Arthur she rather not have. Eventually, after tossing and turning in bed, she dragged herself out of bed. As she made herself a cup of hot chocolate, she replayed that evening again in her head.

When Arthur had asked her to go to bed, every part of her had been screaming to accede, to accept what he was offering. But that was the problem. What was he offering? A one night stand to ease the stress he was experiencing? An opportunity to scratch an itch? Rebound sex? She remembered how eager Arthur had been to earn Mithian’s affections, how he often spoke of Mithian in glowing terms and how he’d been so desperate, he’d ask her to help him. At the same time, she couldn’t forget the hurt and sadness that had flashed in his eyes when she said no.

The sensible part of her reminded her that Arthur wasn’t Gwaine and Gwen knew that any break up with Arthur would never be as pleasant as the one she experienced with Gwaine. And as much as she was in love with Arthur, her stay in Camelot was supposed to be a temporary. a break from the life she had. Her savings were coming along nicely and in a month or so, she would be out of a job anyway. Maybe, it was time to move on.

She sipped her hot chocolate and sighed. Then screamed when a loud crash startled her. Jumping to her feet, she padded to her room, her heart sinking when she saw part of her ceiling now on her bed.

“Your ceiling collapsed?” Merlin yelled into her ear through the phone. “Are you hurt? Don’t move. I’m coming over right now.”

“I’m -” Merlin had hung up. Her eyes surveyed the damage in her room one more time, thankful she hadn’t been in bed when the ceiling decided to give up. Maybe that encounter with Arthur had its positive side, she mused wryly, then wondered why her hot chocolate wasn’t something stronger.

Within the hour, Merlin knocked on her door. That wasn’t unexpected. What was unexpected was a slightly sleepy looking Arthur, hair all mussed up, standing behind him.

In shock, she asked curtly, “Why is he here?”

That same look of hurt flashed in Arthur’s eyes. “Just the driver,” he said quietly. “I’ll wait at the car.”

“Wait -” she started but Arthur was already walking away.

“Sorry,” said Merlin. “Wanted to get here as soon as I could so I got Arthur to give me a lift. He was really worried. Want to show me the damage?”

Shaking her head, trying to clear it of all the conflicting thoughts and emotions, Gwen led Merlin to her room.

“Good thing you weren’t in bed.”

“Yeah.” Gwen sighed. “Good thing.”

“We’ll call the workers when the sun comes up. Come on, pack some things. You can stay over at my place. You definitely can’t stay here.”

Merlin was right. Within half an hour, she was all packed and walking out of her damaged apartment. Arthur was leaning against his car, his brows furrowed as he read something on his tablet. Merlin called out to him and Arthur quickly looked up. Gwen found herself unable to look at him. Instead, she fussed over her overnight bag.

“What happened?” He tossed his tablet into his car carelessly, then reached over to take her bag. “Was it bad?”

“She can’t stay there, definitely,” said Merlin. “She’ll stay with me for now.”

Frowning, Arthur hefted her bag and put it in the boot. “Your tiny place?”

“It’s fine,” said Gwen immediately, afraid that Arthur would suggest she stay with him instead. “I shouldn’t have to stay with Merlin for too long.” Arthur didn’t. He merely nodded, then got into the car. Foolish, Gwen told herself. Why would Arthur want her in his house?

It didn’t take long before Arthur pulled up outside Merlin’s building. Murmuring a quick thank you, she exited his car.

“That was weird,” said Merlin as they walked up to his apartment.

“Weird?”

“Yeah. Just a couple of days ago, you and Arthur were good buddies. And today, you two can barely look at each other.”

Gwen faked a yawn. “I’m so tired. I’m going to crash on your sofa now if you don’t mind.”

Merlin smirked. “I know what you’re doing.”

Tempering her smile, Gwen yawned exaggeratedly. “You’d be exhausted too if your ceiling came crashing down.”

With a shake of his head, Merlin chuckled and passed her some sheets and blankets. “Here. Get some sleep.”

+

There were only so many days she could avoid work so two days after her ceiling fell in, she turned up and stared at the mess that was her table. And after tossing and turning in bed over the past two nights, she’d come to a decision, one she had to tell Arthur about.

“Mer- Guinevere!” Arthur stepped out of his office and stopped short. “You came back.”

“I couldn’t stay away forever,” Gwen forced a smile on her face, resolutely ignoring the tension and awkwardness that she felt. “Just look at my table after three days of absence!” Friendly and distant, that was how she told herself to act earlier.

Arthur’s hand went up to rub the back of his neck and he smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

The tension she was determined to ignore got heavier and Gwen found herself standing uncomfortably next to her table, her hands playing with a pen she’d picked up as Arthur shifted his weight and chewed on his lips.

“Uh, so how’s the ceiling?”

“In the process of being repaired. How’s the Mordred case coming along?”

“Good question. We have a meeting with him and Morgana today so I’d better get you up to speed.” He cocked his head, indicating she should go into his office.

Having heard from Merlin about Uther’s ultimatum, Gwen was slightly surprised that Arthur seemed to be just as committed to the case as he was before. Her confusion must have shown because halfway through Arthur’s briefing, he stopped then looked at her seriously. “Is something wrong?”

“I just thought you would be dropping this case.”

A frown formed on his face. “Did you think I would?”

“I just - well - your father - his opinion always mattered the most to you,” Gwen trailed off as the frown on Arthur’s face only deepened.

When Arthur replied, his voice was cool. “After all these months, you think I am still the boy I was in school?”

Shocked by the undercurrent of anger in his response, Gwen simply stared at him.

“Sorry,” muttered Arthur, rubbing his face. “I’m just a little stressed. As I was saying, we’ve put Mordred up at a hotel so the press would stop bothering him. As for the countersuit by Mercia, Merlin is dealing with that at the moment and maybe I was wrong about Morgana but she seemed to have developed a conscience.”

Her eyebrows rose. “A conscience?”

“I think she saw how badly affected Mordred was after his announcement and suddenly, she’s willing to work with us a hundred percent.”

“And you believe her?”

Arthur shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“And your father?”

Arthur shrugged again. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Right.” Then there was nothing to say, nothing safe at least.

“I’m going to go -” “Guinevere, about -”

They stopped and Gwen swallowed, pushing down the nerves that threatened to choke her. She raised her eyes to his and found herself unable to look away. Arthur’s hand reached out and touched her cheek lightly, his thumb brushing so close to her lips the urge to just turn her head a little and kiss it swelled in her. Her heart sped up.

As if in a dream, Arthur moved towards her, the hand on her cheek drifting down the line of her neck, sending a trail of goosebumps in the wake of his fingers. Gwen’s eyes fluttered close and she felt herself lean into his touch. By the time Arthur’s lips brushed against hers, it was more of a relief than anything. Her lips parted, deepening the kiss as her fingers slid into his hair, tugging him closer to her until they were pressed tightly against each other. She felt his arm go round her waist, his fingers tracing patterns on her back.

“Guinevere,” he groaned, pulling away slightly. His forehead rested on hers and his thumb rubbed across her slightly swollen lower lip. “We need to talk about this.”

When Arthur looked at her like this, his eyes warm and full of desire, dreams of a happily ever after started to feel possible. It was clear her feelings for Arthur were out of control. “I’m leaving Camelot next month,” she blurted, jerking away from him.

“What?” His arms dropped and he took a step back. All the warmth that was in his eyes drained away. “Next month?”

“My contract runs till then and I’m sure George would be itching to get back to work -”

“Liar,” Arthur said accusingly. “You’re running away from us.”

“Don’t you see? There’s no us! And Camelot was always going to be a temporary place for me.”

Arthur stalked back to his table, standing behind it, putting distance between them. “I know you and Gwaine have broken up.” He paused then looked at her, the warmth returning to his eyes. “Maybe there could be an us,” he said softly.

Still riding the panic at the depth of her feelings for Arthur, Gwen shook her head. “No. Because you’re still in love with Mithian. Because I am nowhere close to the kind of person you should be dating. Because I don’t belong in Camelot. Because your father hates my family.” Because I am afraid. That last thought echoed in her.

“Because you don’t feel anything for me?” Arthur asked flatly.

“I -”

The door to Arthur’s office swung open with a crash and Merlin popped his head in. “Mordred is here.”

+

Guinevere started when Arthur walked into the pantry, then she left in a hurry. His eyes fell on the mug she left behind in her hurry and that familiar dull pain throbbed in him again. The extent to which Guinevere went to avoid him the whole week left Arthur with little doubt that whatever feelings he had for her were completely one-sided. Which was just as well, Arthur told himself firmly as he slipped his mug under the nozzle of the espresso machine. With the Mordred case heating up and the fact that it was just a matter of time before he would be jobless, it wasn’t the best time to start a new relationship.

He glanced again at Guinevere’s mug, sighed then picked it off the counter. The coffee in it was cooling so he made a new batch for her. Silently, he set it on her table before disappearing into his office.

Merlin was lounging on his sofa.

“News?”

“All of Morgana’s evidence and witness accounts have come in. She’s good. You should work with her - she can dig up dirt on anybody.”

Arthur grunted as he flipped through the massive folder left on his table.

Merlin looked at him meaningfully. “Digging up dirt is one thing. Would be good if she had access to a decent lawyer so she could actually take legal action against them instead of simply smearing their name in public. Her association with the tabloids doesn’t do much for her reputation.”

“Has my father been ranting about firing me again?”

“It’s a daily occurrence, isn’t it? Speaking of which, Katherine managed to catch hold of me today and demanded I inform you that there’s an emergency meeting being held today at 3pm. You are expected to attend.”

“Brilliant,” muttered Arthur.

Merlin gave Arthur a sympathetic smile then left, lingering outside with Guinevere. His heart contracted again and he quickly turned his attention to the folder Merlin dropped off.

As he flipped through Morgana’s evidence, he realised Merlin wasn’t exaggerating. Morgana’s detective work was A plus and somehow she managed to get a whole swathe of people to talk about all the going ons in Mercia. He grinned, his mood lifting. With Morgana’s cooperation, finally, things were looking up. Not only would they be able to get some measure of justice for Mordred, with some luck, they would be able to actually hold Mercia accountable for a lot more than just what they did to Mordred’s father. Who would have thought?

Deciding he needed a stretch after plowing over a pile of documents, he left his office in search for lunch, running straight into a conversing Merlin and Guinevere. Buoyed by Morgana’s cooperation and despite Guinevere’s coolness towards him, Arthur approached them, inviting them for lunch, an offer Merlin accepted eagerly.

“You’re paying?”

“Sure, why not?” Arthur smiled. “Guinevere?”

“Come on,” urged Merlin.

Seated at a table with Merlin and Guinevere only served to make Arthur feel better. As he watched as the two of them studied the menu, a sense of contentment filled him. This, he realised with a start, was what he had been searching for - a job that made him feel like he was making a difference and people who he cared deeply about. And at this moment, it all seemed almost within his grasp.

“You need me to stay out late today?” Arthur heard Guinevere say.

Curiosity piqued, Arthur jumped into the conversation. “Do you have a date?”

Merlin flushed but before he could answer, Guinevere jumped in, a twinkle in her eyes. “He most certainly does! In fact, he had one last night too and I had to spend most of my evening sitting around in Cafe Bonne until he gave me the all clear.”

Laughter exploded from Arthur. “Merlin! How could you do this to Guinevere? And who is this mysterious date?”

“She didn’t mind,” muttered Merlin. “Did you?”

Guinevere laughed, sending a warm fissure through Arthur. “Anything for your love life, Merlin. And I’m as curious as you are as to who the mysterious date is.”

“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to date you,” Arthur said, pleased that this topic made Guinevere relax and that persistent tension between them disappear.

Merlin just rolled his eyes in response. “That’s because you don’t know how to appreciate me.”

They chatted a little more about Merlin’s mysterious date, attempting to tease out more details from him but Merlin was as closed mouthed as a clam. It didn’t matter to Arthur. He simply enjoyed having Guinevere talk to him normally again.

“Why don’t you come by my place tonight instead?” The moment the question escaped from Arthur’s lips, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Her expression closed and she sank back into her chair. The food arrived at that moment and silence reigned.

“Going to Arthur’s place is probably better than sitting in the cafe,” Merlin suddenly said between bites. “It’s all comfortable and he has a huge flat screen television. And the most expensive leather sofa.”

“I’m sure he has better things to do than entertain me.”

“If you came over, you could help me sort through Morgana’s documents. I would really love the help.”

Guinevere narrowed her eyes at him, easily catching on to the game he was playing. “Just for work?” she said carefully.

“Dinner and work. I order takeaway very well.”

“Great idea,” said Merlin, “Right Gwen?”

Her eyes darted to Arthur’s then to her plate. “Yeah, great idea.”

Arthur bit his lips to stop the smile that wanted to break out on his face. Tonight couldn’t come soon enough.

+

Whatever good feelings Arthur accumulated over the first half of the day dissipated the moment he stepped into the conference room that afternoon. He supposed, he fumed, as he walked out from the most frustrating meeting he had ever been involved in. And that included the early, stealth meetings with Morgana.

One month’s notice and they acted as if they were doing him a favour when they offered him that. In a fit of pique, he’d belligerently told the board that he would leave immediately before marching out of the room, ignoring his father.

In his office, he snatched up all the documents and files relating to Mordred’s case, then swung by Merlin’s office to break the news. He could feel Guinevere’s concerned eyes on him.

“The meeting didn’t go well?”

“Shareholders are appalled by my pursuit of this case,” Arthur sighed, leaning against her table. “I’m now officially unemployed and unfortunately for you and Merlin, you two are likely to be joining me soon.”

Reaching out, she rubbed his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

His fingers curled around hers. “I’m going off now. I’m not in the mood to spend any more time here. Come with me. Please?”

He could see the hesitation in her eyes and braced himself for rejection, but eventually she spoke. “Since I’m going to be spending the evening with you, why not start it now?”

“Good.”

Nodding, she slipped her hand from his then turned to pack. Unable to help himself, Arthur watched her, admiring the way she moved as she put all her things together. Need for her gripped him and he moved away. If Guinevere did leave Camelot next month like she said, he wasn’t sure how he would cope.

“Let’s go,” she said, breaking into his thoughts.

He held out his hand and after a moment, she slipped her hand in his.

+

Gwen wasn’t quite sure what she was doing. She’d spent most of the week avoiding Arthur, especially when that kiss in the office proved to her that she had little self control around him and now she was seated in his plush car, about to spend the evening with him. But, she didn’t really want to spend the evening in that tacky cafe with the leering owner and now, with Arthur’s sacking, she felt this need to be there for him.

The music from the car radio masked the silence in the car and Gwen stared out of the window, mulling over her decisions, achingly aware of Arthur within touching distance. By the time Arthur pulled up at his apartment building, Gwen was a mess of nerves and need. In the lift, she stood as far from Arthur as she could, staring resolutely at the rising numbers. Arthur said nothing.

His hands brushed against her as he took her coat once they stepped into his apartment. By then, the tension between them was so fraught that it felt like it would snap at any moment. She should step away from Arthur, put some distance between them, but she couldn’t. Her back still to him, she waited, wondering if he would touch her again.

“Guinevere,” he breathed and she could feel his warm breath against her nape. Desire curled in her stomach and spread all the way to her toes. How did he make her ache with just a whisper of her name? Sucking in a deep breath, her brain warring with her heart, she turned slowly around and found herself caught in his gaze. “Kiss me.”

And she did, gently at first but the desire that smoldered between them burst into flames when Arthur’s tongue dragged across her lips and his arms gripped her so close to him, she could barely breathe. His mouth slid to her neck, nibbling and sucking while his hands rucked up her top, caressing the skin beneath, tracing circles around her belly button then drifting up to brush against her breasts. She moaned and shuddered under his touch, her own fingers scrambling at the buttons of his shirt until she was able to slide her hands under his shirt, across his stomach, smiling as she felt him tense under her searching fingers. Slowly, he moved until the back of her thighs made contact with his sofa. She tumbled onto the sofa, and he tumbled after her, her laughter cut short when he brought his mouth down to her collarbone.

She sighed and ran her fingers in his hair.

Then he stopped and looked up at her. “Are you sure?”

His words were like a bucket of cold water. All the reasons she had for not getting into such a situation again raced through her mind. Sucking in a breath, she retreated to the corner of the sofa. “No.”

Arthur nodded, then moved away, his unbuttoned shirt hanging off him. “We should talk. Although I rather do something else,” he said wryly. He took her hand in his, threading his fingers through hers, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand.

“This is a bad idea.” Yet she couldn’t bring herself to pull her hand from his.

“I don’t think it is,” he said so quietly she had to strain to hear him. His eyes studied her, then as if he came to a decision, took a deep breath, squeezed her hand and continued in a more confident voice. “I like you a lot Guinevere.” This he said in a louder voice. “We get along well, we are obviously attracted to each other so why is this a bad idea?”

Fear gripped Guinevere. She wasn’t about to confess her feelings for him. “I told you before - you’re on the rebound and I don’t -”

A slow, deep kiss cut off her words. “When I kiss you, there is nothing else in my head except you, the way you taste, the way you smell, the way you feel. I can barely remember where I am, much less think about relationships that never had a chance anyway.”

“I’m leaving next month,” she said shakily, desperately trying to remember all the reasons she had for rejecting Arthur. But with him looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, all her reasons seemed foolish.

“Don’t. Don’t leave. Stay with me.” A finger trailed down her cheek, then his hand cupped her face.

“I don’t belong here. Not anymore.”

Arthur frowned at her words. “Then I’ll go with you. I’ve no job anymore, nothing to keep me here. If you want to go to Gedref, we’ll go to Gedref. If you want to go to Essetir, then we’ll go to Essetir.”

“Just to sleep with me?” she asked in shock.

“No,” Arthur huffed, “I’ll go because I love you.”

Gwen stared at him, hearing the words but not quite understanding them. Did Arthur Pendragon, the person she had been in love with forever, just say he loved her? And why? Convinced she was imagining things, she shook her head in confusion.

His hand dropped from her face and something that looked a lot like hurt darkened his eyes. “Guinevere,” he said, his voice low and serious. “we have a good time when we’re together, don’t we?”

She nodded, her mind still frantically trying to make sense of what was happening.

“We get along well.”

She nodded again.

“And being with you makes my life brighter. You make me happy. You make me want to be a better person.”

And then it finally dawned on her. Arthur loved her. She smiled. “Arthur -”

“No,” he interrupted her, “let me finish. I know that you think I’m still in love with Mithian but I’m not. It may sound callous but all the time I was with her, I found myself, unconsciously at first but much more consciously later, wondering what you were doing, wondering how much more I would enjoy it if you were around. And I also know that you’re afraid that I’m still the Arthur you knew from a long time ago, but I like to think that I’ve changed and -”

She placed her fingers on his lips. “Arthur. I love you too. I’ve love you for a long time.”

Shock, then utter delight filled Arthur’s face. “Brilliant,” he whispered before kissing the fingers she held against his lips. Far too slowly for Gwen’s liking, Arthur kissed his way up her arm to her shoulder, ignoring her pleas to hurry. Annoyed, Gwen slid her hands up his chest, enjoying the feel of his flexing muscles under her palm, then pushed him back against the sofa and straddled him.

“Eager, aren’t you?” teased Arthur as he unbuttoned her blouse, then pushing it off her. Her response was a soft laugh, followed by her pressing kisses along his jaw then down his throat until she reached his chest. Her fingernails scrapped over his nipple before she laved it with her tongue, the groan torn from him only encouraging her on. His hard length pressed against her stomach. Her own arousal was growing and part of her wanted nothing more than to pull off Arthur’s pants and sink onto him.

But there was a lot to be said for having Arthur writhing under her touch and lips and having him clutch at her shoulders and moaning her name.

By the time Gwen unzipped his pants and wrapped her hand around him, Arthur’s hands were in her hair and his hips lifted, straining towards her.

She licked him.

He gasped, jerked his hips then called her a tease.

In response, she took him in her mouth, sucking and licking, smiling as he swore under his breath.

“You need to stop,” he gasped, his hands pulling her up. “Wait.”

Impatiently, Gwen disentangled herself from Arthur and watched as he removed a foil packet from his wallet.

Finally, after they removed the remnants of their clothings, she sank down on him. For a while, they just lay there, his hands caressing her back, raining kisses on her face as she shut her eyes and relished the feel of him in her.

“I love you,” murmured Arthur in her ear. “So much.” His hand snaked down between their bodies and pressed against her clit. Bracing her palms on his chest, she pushed herself up, then she moved, slowly at first then when they managed to establish a satisfying rhythm, faster. Arthur’s other hand crept up to her breast, squeezing.

It wasn’t long till the two of them lay sated, entwined in each other arms. Arthur pressed kisses against her damp hair as she snuggled into him.

“That wasn’t so bad,” she smiled into his chest.

“Not so bad?” Arthur’s laughter rumbled against her cheek. “Clearly we need more practice.”

“Clearly.”

_~ Epilogue ~_

Thursday was date night and despite Gwen’s protests, both Merlin and Arthur managed to persuade Mithian that dinner at the Cowboy’s Ranch was a great idea. That was why she was now seated in a restaurant tackily decorated with plastic (at she hoped they were plastic) animal heads, cowboy hats and horseshoes with the serving staff dressed in stereotypical cowboy garb as loud country music blasted in the background. More appallingly, a group of people line danced in the middle of the restaurant. Merlin bopped far too happily to the music as his wife looked fondly on.

“I am still upset that the two of you just upped and eloped last week,” grumbled Gwen as she popped a chip in her mouth.

“You’re upset because Arthur here is taking far too long to propose to you.”

“Shut up Merlin!”

Ignoring Arthur and Merlin, Gwen turned her attentions back to Mithian. “You need to throw a party to celebrate.”

“The whole point of eloping was to avoid the whole wedding nonsense,” said Mithian. “If you want a wedding, maybe you should be planning your own.”

“With Arthur and Morgana still working through their new venture, I think a wedding is the last thing on his mind,” Gwen said, instinctively leaning towards Arthur who easily slipped his arm around her as he continued squabbling with Merlin. “But we’ll probably manage a house-warming.”

“Good. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with that rundown shack.”

“You have no imagination,” laughed Gwen. “It’s turning out to be gorgeous.”

Finally surfacing from their quarrel, Merlin grinned at Gwen. “I don’t care what your house looks like, I’m just glad you’re hanging around in Camelot.”

“Me too,” she said, still slightly surprised that she truly meant it.

“Come on,” said Arthur, “a toast to finally closing the Mordred case.”

“A toast,” Merlin repeated.

“You three did fantastically,” said Mithian, pride all over her face.

Gwen grinned, snuggled into Arthur and clinked her glass against the others. She felt Arthur nuzzle her hair. Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the warmth of the restaurant, but Gwen thought she felt happier than she ever had before.

Then Merlin insisted they try line dancing.


End file.
